Season 1 Once More, From The Top
by Leafsdude
Summary: [Season 1 of my own version of BtVS] Episode 4 Now Up Cheers! Separate chapter summaries inside! When Buffy Summers comes to Sunnydale with her family, she finds that fate is harder to ignore then she thought.
1. Our New Home

  
_A/N: Well, here's the big fic. Plan and simply, this is the way I feel Buffy really should have happened, especially after the mess ups that were seasons 6 and 7. This will basically be an AU fic, though there will be obvious similarities with the real series, as well as a lot of notable differences, as I mentioned in my profile.  
  
This, in essence, is the way the season premiere should have gone. Therefore, a lot of the storyline will follow that, but I will have a lot of things that will change, so it's not basically a copy (or, at least, that's the hope :D)  
  
So, here we go. Hang onto your seats, keep your hands and legs inside the ride at all times, and all those other lame theme park ride clichés that you can think of, and enjoy the show!_  
  
  
Spoilers: Season 1 Episode 1: Welcome To the Hellmouth and Episode 2: The Harvest. Though there will be a lot of major changes to these two episodes here, you'll still be at major spoiler risk if you haven't (somehow) seen these episodes before.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got a lot of the information for this chapter from www.buffyworld.com/. Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :)  
  
  
Legend: Completely 3rd person, so nothing of note.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


**Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - My Way!**

  
  


**Season 1: Once Again, From The Top**

  
  


**By: David Armstrong (With help from Joss Whedon and Co.)**

  
  


**Episode 1: Our New Home**

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Chad broke the window and squeezed into Sunnydale High's science lab, he nearly had to drag his date through behind him.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Taking a look over at the black haired girl standing next to him, Chad had to groan.  
  
"Of course, it's a great idea, now come on." He replied, dusting himself off and walking into the hall.  
  
"Do you go to school here?" Chad's date asked, seemingly more at ease, now, though Chad had to admit that she appeared at times to be bordering on insanity.  
  
"I used to. On top of the gym it's so cool. You can see the whole town." Chad said, growing excited.  
  
"I don't wanna go up there. I don't like heights," Chad's date said with a tone of fear.  
  
"Well, we can close our eyes, then, now can't we?" Chad replied, exasperated.  
  
Almost jumping out of her skin, Chad's date spun around. "What was that?"  
  
Chad, now bored out of his mind, and losing patience quickly, responded. "What was what?"  
  
"I heard a noise," came the expected reply.  
  
"It's nothing!" Chad shouted.  
  
Whimpering rather shamefully, Chad's date hung her head, but still managed to speak, "Maybe it is something."  
  
"Or maybe it's some_thing_," Chad taunted.  
  
As his date continued to whimper, Chad decided to just look.  
  
Turning the corner, he noticed exactly what he expected. Nothing.  
  
"Hello?!" He taunted to the air. "There's nothing there." He said, hoping to satisfy the girl.  
  
"Really?" Came the reply.  
  
"For sure." He said.  
  
"Great."  
  
Chad didn't have a chance to react. Feeling something sharp enter his neck, he was out before he could even scream. As his date finished up, she dumped him into the nearest locker, and started to skip out of the school.  
  
"That'll teach the children for messing around with Dru. She's not one to be messed with." She chanted, exiting the building.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Buffy woke with a start that morning. She was having some odd nightmares the past few months, and they were beginning to get to her.  
  
"Ladies?"  
  
Looking at the figure in the bed next to her stir, Buffy decided to speak up. "We're up mom," she shouted, half because she knew her mom wouldn't be able to hear her from downstairs, and half to wake up her sister.  
  
"Don't want to be late for your first day!" Their mother replied, confirming to Buffy that she heard.  
  
"No, wouldn't want that," Buffy thought out loud.  
  
"Huh?" Came the grunted, sleepy reply from next to her.  
  
"Oh, first day of school. Don't want to be late." She sighed, getting a giggle from her blonde haired room mate.  
  
"Well, the rumors are true that you're not a morning person, huh?" She said, between giggles.  
  
"How about we get downstairs, get something to eat, and get to school before mom has a fit." Buffy replied, with a small hint of humor in her voice.  
  
As the figure next to her began to rise in a fit of giggles, Buffy couldn't help but laugh as well.  
  
When both were dressed, they headed downstairs to a pair of loaded plates of pancakes.  
  
"Hey, mom. Thought I said I make the pancakes around here," Buffy's sister spoke with mock hurt.  
  
"Well, you guy were sleeping, and I know how much you guys love being woken up, so I decided I'd do it this time."  
  
Looking on with horror, Buffy spoke up. "Ya know what, maybe we should just get something at school," she said, hoping to get herself out of this mess. The elbow in her ribs, and glare told her otherwise.  
  
"Fine, fine. But when I come home early from food poisoning, I'm blaming both of you," she caved in, and dug into the breakfast.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The drive to school was quiet, and surprisingly calm.  
  
As they pulled up to the curb, Buffy's sister quickly gave her mother a kiss, and left, almost running into the school.  
  
"She really loves school, huh?" Buffy said.  
  
"Yes, glad there's one of those in our family." Her mother replied. "Well, don't just sit there. Get going!"  
  
As Buffy began to exit the vehicle, her mother continued her first-day-of-school speech. "Have a good time. I know you'll make friends right away, just think positive," she grinned.  
  
Nodding, and closing the door of her mother's 4x4, Buffy turned. "And Buffy?" Her mother said, startling Buffy and causing her to spin back around. "Try not to get kicked out."  
  
Buffy inwardly grimaced as she remembered her previous school troubles.  
  
"I promise," she said with the utmost sincerity. There was also a bit of hope, too.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Heading to the principles office, Buffy saw her sister exit, holding up her schedule and grinning. "Got all the courses I wanted. This is going to be great!" She spat out before running down the hall.  
  
"Well, at least one of us got off easy," Buffy said aloud, walking into the principle's office.  
  
As she entered the office, she noticed the semi-old looking man staring out of the window. Taking the seat in front of his desk, Buffy cleared her throat.  
  
Spinning around, the man looked at Buffy, and then walked over to his desk.  
  
"Hi, I'm Principle Flutie. I'm guessing you are..." He trailed off, looking through a stack of papers. "Ah, here we are. Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite a career." He said.  
  
The whole meeting had Buffy wondering what she did to deserve this, and as she watched him try to fumble with the sheet of paper he had ripped up just moments previous while trying to converse with her, she felt her head start to spin. Thankfully, he finally let her out.  
  
Getting up, Buffy walked out with her head down. Opening the door, she started to look through her bag, and was bumped into by a pair of students walking by, scattering all her stuff around.  
  
"Oh! Sorry!" Buffy panicked.  
  
"That's ok," came the reply from the girl Buffy bumped into. As the pair walked off, Buffy began to pick up her stuff.  
  
"Can I have you," a new voice spoke up.  
  
Confused, and not sure if her hearing was doing her justice, Buffy looked up. In front of her was a young man with brown hair.  
  
"Uh. Can I help you?" He tried again, chuckling.  
  
Happy for a little bit of help, Buffy smiled up. "Thanks."  
  
"I don't know you, do I?" the boy tried his hand at conversation.  
  
"I'm Buffy. I'm new," Buffy introduced herself.  
  
"Xander. Is, is me. Hi." Xander tried to reply.  
  
"Um, thanks," Buffy said as she put the last item back into her bag. At least, what she thought was the last item.  
  
Getting up to walk off, Xander spoke up again. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around. Maybe at school, since...we...both go there."  
  
"Great. It was nice to meet you." Buffy said, walking off. She couldn't help but think how similar Xander and her sister were when they were nervous. Well, minus the stutter.  
  
Realizing she might run into someone else if she didn't, Buffy lifted her head, and walked to her first class. "Ugh, History." Buffy didn't like anything school related, and history was no exception.  
  
Entering the room, Buffy got ready for a long morning.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Across the hall, Buffy's sister was heading to the library. Having a first period spare was going to be fun, she hoped as she quickened her pace. Perhaps it was a Summers gene that did it, but somehow, she managed to run into someone on her way, too. Dropping her book bag, all of her stuff managed to stay in. However, it was more than she could attest for the younger girl who hit the ground with a thud and had books lying in four or five different places.  
  
"Oh, God, I'm so s-s-sorry." She said, quickly picking up her stuff before helping the other girl up. Getting her first clear look at her, Buffy's sister noticed that the girl had long red hair and an interesting wardrobe.  
  
"Here, let me help you," she offered.  
  
"Oh, thanks. Umm...I'm Willow," the redhead responded.  
  
"Tara. Pleasure to meet you," Tara replied.  
  
"Same here," Willow replied. "Umm, not that I like to meet people like this. I don't, like, go around and run into people that I want to meet," Willow babbled on.  
  
Laughing, Tara was quick to reassure the girl. "That's ok; I was the one that wasn't paying attention."  
  
"N-no, it was me. I was so excited to get to the library. They've got this new shipment of books in. 'Ancient Artifacts of Egypt'." Willow looked over, and then continued her ramble. "And I'm the dullest person alive, huh?"  
  
Shaking her head, Tara smiled. "You have a first spare? I do, too. Maybe you could show me around? I'm new," she told Willow. "I was heading to the library, too. Of course, caught up in my excitement of having a first period spare, I forgot to find out where it was. Oh, and to look up." She explained.  
  
As they reached the library, Willow whispered to Tara. "They've got a new librarian. He's British, but nice," she filled her in as they walked in. "If you don't mind, I'd like to quickly get a couple of books from up there," Willow said, heading for the stairs.  
  
As Tara tried to find something that interested her, she noticed a newspaper on the front desk. Always liking an early read, she picked it up. As she began to read, she felt a light tap on her shoulder.  
  
Spinning around, she saw a man that was probably around 45 years' old wearing glasses. "Hello," Tara squeaked, still trying to find her breath.  
  
"Can I help you?" He asked with an English accent. Deciding he was probably the librarian, Tara quickly got out her timetable.  
  
"Well, I could use some books. I'm new." Tara replied.  
  
"Miss Summers?" He asked.  
  
"Good call. Guess we're the only new guys," Tara whispered to herself, surprised. The librarian failed to hear her, though. "Uh, yes, that'd be me."  
  
"I'm Mr. Giles. The, uh, librarian," he replied nervously. "I was told you were coming."  
  
"Oh. Well, I'm going to need 'Geometry and Integers...'"  
  
Giles cut her off. "I know what you're after..." he said, grabbing a book from under the table, and throwing in onto the top of the desk. The cover read 'VAMPYR'.  
  
Startled, Tara quickly back peddled. "Oh, no. T-t-that's not me. Uh, you want my, uh, s-s-sister. Uh, then again, she said she's not going to, uh, do that anymore, so, uh, that might be an even funnier story," she finally breathed, flashing a small smile.  
  
"Oh, well, in that case," Giles replied, quickly replied, putting the book away quickly. "What was it you were looking for, then?"  
  
As Tara got ready to read them out again, Giles did a double take.  
  
"Did you say 'she's not going to do that anymore?'" He inquired.  
  
"Uh, sort of," Tara replied.  
  
Quickly escorting her into his office, Giles motioned for her to sit down. "I'm guessing you already know your sister, umm, Buffy, is the slayer, right?" He began. Surprised that he knew her sister's name, Tara couldn't help but wonder why he didn't get some photos or at least a description of her. Realizing he hadn't received an answer yet, she quickly nodded her head.  
  
"And I'm guessing you know about everything she does?" He continued his interrogation.  
  
"Well, yeah. I d-d-do some magicks. I was doing them before she was c-c-called, so she f-f-figured she could tell me. Our mom and dad don't know, though." She clarified.  
  
"Could you be more specific as to what you said?" Giles asked.  
  
"Well, umm, don't tell her I said it, then," she bargained.  
  
When he nodded, she continued. "Well, after she burned down the school gym. Well, I helped a little. Wet matches don't light as well as a little fire spell. Anyway, afterwards, she was expelled, so she decided to quit slaying. I tried to talk her out of it, but she wouldn't budge. I told mom that we could move so that Buffy could get into another school, and here we are." She finished.  
  
"Interesting. We've heard of rogue slayers before, but not one that just abandon's her duty." Giles thought out loud. "This is going to be difficult."  
  
Getting up, Tara headed out. "Yes, I do think so. Good luck!" She said, hurrying out. Noticing Willow looking slightly worried, she walked over.  
  
"Sorry, Mr. Giles said he had a book I needed in his office," she fibbed. Nodding, Willow led them both over to the table in the middle of the room.  
  
They spent the rest of the period reading and talking idly before heading out to their first classes of the day.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Buffy left history with Cordelia, she was feeling confident that she would fit in here. Cordelia was helping a lot, too.  
  
"Well, you'll be ok here. If you hang with me and mine, you'll be accepted in no time. Of course, we do have to test your coolness factor. You're from L.A., so you can skip the written. Let's see...Vamp nail polish?" Cordelia spat out.  
  
Almost knocked over by the first question, Buffy had to struggle to answer. "Umm, over?"  
  
"So over," Cordelia said to her relief. "James Spader?"  
  
"He so needs to call me," Buffy replied dreamily.  
  
"Frappaccinos?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Trendy, but tasty," Buffy recalled.  
  
"John Tesh?"  
  
"The Devil!" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"That was pretty much a gimme, but, you passed!"  
  
Breathing a sigh of relief, Buffy let out an, "Oh goody," as they reached the water fountain.  
  
"Willow! Nice dress! Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears." Cordelia taunted.  
  
As Buffy walked up, she noticed Willow, and thought there was something about her that reminded her of Tara.  
  
"Oh, uh, well, my m-m-mom picked it out," she responded.  
  
Buffy couldn't help but laugh. However, it wasn't for the reason that Willow thought. Buffy really thought that she talked just like Tara. It was also starting to creep her out a little. Two people had already had similar speech patterns as her sister.  
  
"No wonder you're such a guy magnet. Are you done?" Cordelia asked harshly.  
  
Giving Willow a sympathetic look, Buffy watched her go.  
  
"You wanna fit in here; the first rule is: know your losers. Once you can identify them all by sight, they're a lot easier to avoid." Cordelia said.  
  
Continuing their walk, Cordelia continued to fill Buffy in on life in Sunnydale.  
  
"And if you're not too swamped tonight, you should head to the Bronze tonight," she said.  
  
"The who?" Buffy asked, confused.  
  
"The Bronze. It's the only club in town worth going to around here. They let anybody in, but it's still the scene. It's in the bad part of town."  
  
Interested, despite herself, Buffy asked, "Where's that?"  
  
"About a half a block from the good part of town. We don't have a lot of town here. But, um, you should show." Cordelia explained, as only she could.  
  
"Well. I'll try." Buffy said, "Uh, thanks," she continued, noticing that she was at the library.  
  
Heading into the library, Buffy felt spooked.  
  
"Hello? Is anybody here?" She questioned.  
  
Noticing the same paper that Tara had earlier, she was drawn to the headline. Not hearing the person walk in behind her, she was startled when he tapped her shoulder.  
  
"Ooh, anybody's here," she tried to joke.  
  
"Can I help you?" Giles decided to try the same approach as earlier.  
  
"I was looking for some, well, books. I'm new."  
  
"Ah, yes. Buffy Summers?" Giles wanted to be absolutely sure it was her this time.  
  
"Yeah, that's me." She replied, slightly confused. Who was this guy that seemed to know her so well?  
  
"I'm Mr. Giles, the librarian," He replied, a little quicker than before. "I was, err, told you would be coming."  
  
"Great! So, um, I'm gonna need 'Perspectives on 20th Century...'" Buffy was cut off.  
  
"You'll need no such things. Here's what you want." Giles said, pulling out the same book as earlier.  
  
"Uh, that's not what I came here for," Buffy replied, now on edge.  
  
"Are you sure?" Giles asked, confused. Even with the earlier warning, he still was shocked.  
  
"I'm way sure," Buffy replied. As she saw Giles move to put the book back, she decided to use it to her advantage and get out of the place.  
  
As Giles stood up, he saw the door swing close. "Damn, this is going to harder than I though."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking fast to get out of the place, Buffy once again didn't look where she was going. As Buffy landed hard on her tailbone, she looked up, ready to apologies. "I'm---Tara, what are the chances?" She giggled, before realizing that she might be hurt. "Are you alright?"  
  
Literally running into her sister had been common place before, but never in school. "Well, I've gotten used to it, but not with the crowd," she muttered.  
  
"So, how's day one gone for you?" Buffy tried, rather bored. She figured any conversation would be a welcome relief.  
  
"Oh, well, first period was a spare, and I've somehow managed to still be late for second period. Go figure," came the reply.  
  
"Seen anyone yet? I'm dying to meet someone that's not an annoying spoiled brat," Buffy muttered, recalling her earlier encounter with Cordelia.  
  
"Actually, yes. Bumped into a girl on my way to the library. She's nice. Smart, too. You might want to meet her. Knowing you, you'll probably need all the help you can get," Tara muttered the last part, but it was still loud enough for Buffy to hear, as the soft punch to her shoulder let her know. Well, at least soft compared to Buffy's usual punches.  
  
Moving in closer, Buffy got a slight glint in her eyes. "Was she cute?" She whispered.  
  
Despite the shock in Tara's face, she did manage to nod. "What does she look like?" Buffy continued.  
  
"Oh, w-w-well, red hair, green eyes, about your height. Err, interesting fashion sense." Tara described.  
  
"Oh! The girl with the stutter. I saw her!" Buffy nearly shrieked.  
  
"You met her?" Tara asked, shocked.  
  
"Well, not really met, met. More like ran into and, umm, laughed at. Umm, not in the, uh, teasing way. More like, 'she's so much like Tara' way," Buffy said. "Maybe I should stop digging that hole, huh?" She stopped herself.  
  
"Well, um, I'd better get to class before the sun goes down," Tara said, desperate to get out of there.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I'd better do the same. See you later!" Buffy waived, and ran down to her next class. "Drama, fun," she muttered bitterly.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As her last morning class ended, and Buffy headed out for lunch, she wandered around until she found herself outside in the quad. "Looks like the best place," she muttered.  
  
Walking towards the centre of the place, Buffy noticed the girl she saw earlier. "Well, Tara did say I should meet her. What a better time then now?" She whispered to herself, walking over.  
  
"Uh, hi! Willow, right?" Buffy tried to recall.  
  
"Why? I mean hi. Uhh, d-did you want me to move?" Willow once again stuttered, ready to get up.  
  
Deciding to go to square one, Buffy was quick to stop her. "Why don't we start with 'Hi, I'm Buffy' and then let's segue directly into me asking you for a favour. It doesn't involve moving, but it does involve hanging out with me for a while." As Buffy reminded herself to breath, she noticed an unbelieving look on the redhead's face.  
  
"But aren't you hanging out with Cordelia?" She asked.  
  
"Can't I do both?" Buffy responded with her own question.  
  
"Not legally," Willow responded.  
  
Thinking that she should explain herself more clearly, Buffy replied. "Well, I really want to get by here, new school, and, Cordelia's been really nice. Err, to me, anyway, but, umm, I kinda have this burning desire not to flunk all my classes, and I heard a rumour that you were the person to talk to if I wanted to get caught up."  
  
"Oh, I can totally help you out! Uh, whenever you have a period free, I can meet you in the library," Willow responded.  
  
"Or not," Buffy quickly replied. Seeing Willow's confused expression, she continued hurriedly. "Or we could meet somewhere quieter. Uh, louder. Uh, that place just gives me the wiggins," Buffy tried to explain.  
  
"Oh, it has that effect on most kids," Willow responded, understanding. "I love it, though. It's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool."  
  
"He's new?" Buffy repeated, disbelieving.  
  
"Yeah, he just started. He was the curator as some British museum, or the British museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies, and am I the single dullest person alive?" Willow rambled on.  
  
"Not at all," Buffy reassured her. Looking up, Buffy saw Xander jump up in between them, and another person she hadn't seen before walk up in front.  
  
"Hey," the stranger spoke up.  
  
"You guys busy? Are we interrupting? We're interrupting," Xander spoke quickly.  
  
"Hey," Buffy and Willow both replied.  
  
"Hey, there," the stranger acknowledged Buffy.  
  
"Buffy, this is Jesse and that's Xander," Willow introduced.  
  
"Oh, me and Buffy go way back. Old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times, I'm quite moved," Xander fibbed, almost causing Buffy to laugh.  
  
"Is it me, or are you turning into a bibbling idiot?" Jesse spoke up.  
  
"No, it's...it's not you," Xander replied quietly.  
  
"Well, it's nice to meet you guys, I think," Buffy replied, unsure of herself.  
  
Continuing their conversation, Buffy was enjoying the company of these strangers, despite the slight awkwardness when Xander revealed the stake she accidentally left behind, even if she didn't make it obvious. The last person she wanted to see at that moment decided to make her life a living hell at that moment, though.  
  
"Are these guys bothering you," Cordelia asked.  
  
"Oh, no," Buffy quickly reassured.  
  
"She's not hanging out with us," Willow replied, much to Buffy's disappointment.  
  
"Well, I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was cancelled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker." Cordelia rambled, as if it was a normal occurrence.  
  
"What?" Buffy almost shouted, feeling a slight sense of déjà vu.  
  
"What are you talking about," Willow supplied.  
  
"Some guy was stuffed in Aura's locker," Cordelia tried again.  
  
"Dead?" Buffy asked, wanting to make sure.  
  
"Totally dead. Way dead," Cordelia replied, hoping to get her point across.  
  
"It's not just a little dead, then?" Xander remarked sarcastically.  
  
"Don't you have an elsewhere to be?" Cordelia retorted.  
  
"How did he die?" Buffy asked out of the blue, surprising even herself.  
  
"I don't know," Cordelia replied.  
  
"Well, were there any marks?" Buffy tried again.  
  
"Morbid much? I didn't ask," Cordelia said, exasperated.  
  
"Um, I gotta book. I'll see you guys later," Buffy said, standing up and beginning to walk off. As she entered the school she broke off into a slight run.  
  
Not surprisingly, the door to the gym locker room was locked. With a little effort, Buffy was able to force it open. Not stopping to inspect the damage, she walked in quickly, noticing the covered body sitting in the middle of the room.  
  
Lifting the blanket, she found what she feared most. Vampire marks. "Oh, great!" Buffy remarked.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
After a long, lengthy, and in the end, futile attempt to make Buffy face her destiny, Giles was spending the next period his office, drinking some tea and reading a new book.  
  
The knock at the door startled him, and as he walked over to see who was there, he was surprised to see the Slayer's sister standing before him.  
  
"Sorry, I forgot something here. Mind if I come in?" Tara asked, squeezing through.  
  
"Sure," Giles replied to himself, mostly, as he watched Tara rummage through a few things. "I wasn't wrong when I said Buffy was going to be difficult," he continued, mostly to himself.  
  
"She dropped by? Well, that's surprising in itself. I was wondering what the Council was thinking putting a watcher in a school library," Tara replied absentmindedly.  
  
"She dropped by twice. The first time, she ran out just as quickly as she came in, and the second time, she seemed rather confused. Don't know if she knows what fate is, exactly," Giles supplied, trying to formulate a plan in his mind.  
  
"She'll be at the Bronze tonight," Tara let out unconsciously. "Ah, here it is," she said as she picked up what looked like a necklace from Giles' desk.  
  
"What?" Giles finally responded, missing what Tara had said.  
  
"Oh. It's an old charm that I found back in LA. Can be used for some pretty useful spells..." Tara was cut of in the middle of her explanation.  
  
"No, before that," Giles said, impatiently.  
  
"Oh. Uh, Buffy'll be at the Bronze tonight with Cordelia," Tara repeated.  
  
"Of course!" Giles exclaimed, almost knocking Tara down with the force of his voice.  
  
"Umm, of course?" Tara asked, confused.  
  
"Well, where else would she go to get away from fate than a normal social gathering? The place will probably be filled with vampires, though. It's the perfect situation," Giles thought, not noticing the wrong impression he gave.  
  
"Perfect, huh?" Tara said, surprised.  
  
"Well, I guess not. I mean..." Giles tried to recover.  
  
"Well, in any case, I've got a class to get to. Good luck with that mission tonight," Tara said with a slight chuckle as she bounded out of the room.  
  
"Always the good luck. Of course, she couldn't just go and actually give me luck," Giles said under his breath as he watched the figure disappear.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"We can't get out of here fast enough."  
  
The familiar voice startled Tara out of her wits as she accidentally slammed her book shut, effectively losing her spot. Looking up at offending party, she gave a slight nod at Buffy.  
  
"Have fun at school as always?" She replied sarcastically, winning her a glare from Buffy.  
  
"Well, sometime between math and drama, I decided that school sucks, but that'll probably change tomorrow," Buffy replied in the same tone.  
  
"And I'd bet that librarian isn't helping things, either," Tara replied.  
  
"Well, yeah, he is really going to put a damper on this school year..." Buffy trailed off. "How did you know that?" She asked, accusingly.  
  
"Umm. I s-s-saw him during my f-first period spare. Pretty obvious that h-he's a watcher. I mean, they all are about the s-same age, with that same hairstyle and I t-t-think the glasses are always from the same place," Tara tried to cover, though her stutter was likely going to arouse some suspicion from her sister.  
  
"Yeah. Why do they want to follow me, anyway? I thought I made it clear already what my intentions are for the rest of my life. Finish school and spend the rest of my life manning a drive-thru at some local McDonald's," Buffy said, trying to keep her voice even and serious.  
  
"You're not that bad. I see prison guard better. I mean, you have the muscle for it," Tara retorted, laughing.  
  
"Muscle, huh?" Buffy replied, with a mock look of hurt on her face.  
  
As Buffy began to advance, they both heard the familiar honk of their mother's vehicle, which caused Tara to let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Perfect timing, as always," Tara said, getting in while giving a grin to her mother. Upon the look, she continued. "Buffy was about to get even with me. Knowing her, I'd hate to have found out what exactly it was."  
  
"Oh, well, glad to be of help. I'll have to remember this when I get into a tight situation with you," their mother replied with a smile. "So, how were your days?"  
  
"It was great!"  
  
"It was horrible!"  
  
Both girls replied at the same time, causing their mother to look at them both.  
  
"Well, can't say I'm surprised," she supplied.  
  
They spent the rest of the dive home talking, or maybe more like arguing, about how great or horrible the new school was.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"I need a new wardrobe!" Buffy shouted to herself angrily.  
  
"Hey, keep in down in there. Me and that invisible person you're talking to might go deaf soon," Tara replied, seriously.  
  
"Oh. Sorry, it's just, everyone from around here is supposed to be there, and I want to look normal," Buffy replied, eying a couple more dresses disgustedly. "I forgot I don't really own anything casual anymore. Everything is black in here."  
  
"Just find something simple. White shirt, black pants. Those always look good," Tara tried to help.  
  
Huffing, Buffy moved over to the next box. Opening it, she lifted out a blue jacket quickly. "I haven't seen this in ages."  
  
"You haven't touched that since homecoming. Weren't those times?" Tara thought aloud.  
  
"Yeah, although I still am insulted that you thought I needed that spell to win. I think I would have swept the votes anyway," Buffy replied.  
  
"Hey. I just got that book, and the spell just happened to be on the first page. Besides, you wouldn't have swept. I voted for Rachel. She was much prettier, and had better fashion sense," Tara said, careful not to over-provoke Buffy.  
  
"You're pure evil, you know that? I should slay you right here, right now," Buffy cackled, pretending to reach into her jacket. She suddenly pulled the hand back out. "Actually, I've got a better way to get back at you, your evilness. I'm sure there'd be a certain redhead you've got the hots for at the Bronze. Perhaps I should try to play matchmaker."  
  
"You wouldn't! I mean, I don't even know...A-and besides, we b-b-barely know each other," Tara struggled.  
  
"Well, why don't you come along and make sure I don't," Buffy replied. She knew she had her cornered. Blackmail sure was fun.  
  
"W-well. You know how I hate bars. J-just don't say anything too stupid," Tara said, defeated.  
  
"Fine, have it your way. I'll try to keep things civilized," Buffy said as Tara slouched out of the room. Looking down, she noticed a magazine on the floor.  
  
"Oh, you forgot your..." Buffy stopped as her mother walked in, slipping the magazine behind her back. Despite being very open to each other, they held quite a few secrets each from their mother.  
  
"Forgot your what?" She asked.  
  
"Umm..." Buffy stalled, looking for something else that might have been left behind on the floor. A toothbrush, socks...Bingo! Buffy walked over and picked up Tara's old yearbook. "Her freshman yearbook," she remarked triumphantly.  
  
"Isn't that the one she hates? She always complains about that picture from it," her mother commented.  
  
"Yeah. I'd never let her forget it, though. Maybe in a couple years, she may look at it and say, 'hey, I actually looked kinda good back then'," Buffy replied. Walking next door, she delivered the package quietly before returning to her own room. Picking up the dresses she had rummaged through earlier in the evening, she put them into her closet.  
  
"Are you, uh, going out tonight?" Her mother asked, noticing the articles of clothing lying on Buffy's bed.  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to a club," Buffy replied, thinking of how many times she had used that excuse to do, well, other things.  
  
"Oh. Will there be boys there?" Her mother replied, rather dumbly.  
  
"No, Mom. It's a nun club," Buffy replied sarcastically. She never understood her mother's burning desire to keep her from boys. Perhaps she'd be open to Tara's situation despite her cautiousness.  
  
"Well, just be careful."  
  
"I will," Buffy replied. They'd had similar conversations in the past, but this was the first time Buffy actually believed that she would be careful.  
  
"You know, I think we can make it work here," Buffy's mom continued, enthusiastically. "I've got my positive energy flowing... I'm gonna get the Gallery on its feet. Oh, uh, we may have found a space today."  
  
"That's great," Buffy replied, not really paying attention anymore. She was actually rather busy trying to remember where the Bronze was, exactly. Was it 125 or 251?  
  
"Oh, and that school is a, a very nurturing environment, which is just what you need," her mother continued  
  
"Well, actually..." Buffy started, thinking mostly about the librarian.  
  
"Oh, not too nurturing. I know, you're sixteen, I've read all about the dangers of over-nurturing. It's hard. New town and everything. It is for me, too. I'm trying to make it work. I'm going to make it work," her mother said forcefully.  
  
"We are," Buffy nodded. "Umm, but we can make it work tomorrow. Right now, I have places to be."  
  
"Oh. Well, can I, um, maybe drive you there?" Her mom offered.  
  
"Sixteen, mom. I don't like being nurtured," Buffy mocked with a smile.  
  
"Oh, right. Well, I'll go then. Have fun!" She said, walking out.  
  
After getting dressed, Buffy walked out into the night.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The night at the Bronze was interesting. Despite ignoring it, Buffy knew in the back of her mind that it would be.  
  
It started during the walk there, as she turned the corner off her new street (Revello, she reminded herself, was its name). Despite his obviously experience at stalking, Buffy's hearing still caught the sound of footsteps. Turning, she saw no one, so she continued on her way.  
  
After heading into an alleyway, she decided to display her own stealth abilities, as she climbed up onto a bar.  
  
The whole run-in with the self-proclaimed 'friend' left Buffy unsure of anything, and more than a little wigged with the information he had given. Plus, the sense of déjà vu she got when she opened the box he threw her, revealing a necklace with a metal cross, wasn't very inviting, either.  
  
Now walking into the Bronze, Buffy was looking to ignore the whole incident and just have a good time. Running into Willow, she couldn't help but strike up a conversation about her love life, or apparent lack-thereof.  
  
Stealing a glance above her, she managed to catch a glance of the school librarian-slash-watcher, and immediately went up to see what his story was.  
  
After another futile attempt by Giles to knock some sense into Buffy, the pair noticed Willow leaving with what Buffy had managed to identify as an obvious vampire. Swinging into action, Buffy managed to creep out Cordelia before deciding the pair must have headed outside.  
  
Now, walking aimlessly on a clear evening, Buffy was attempting to figure out how to go about this rescue mission. Xander's appearance gave her a good distraction.  
  
"Xander! Have you seen Willow?" She asked simply.  
  
"Not tonight, no," he responded, curious.  
  
"She left with a guy," Buffy said, not realizing that the information wouldn't help much.  
  
"We're talking about Willow, right? Scoring at the Bronze, work it girl..." Xander was interrupted in the middle of his ramblings.  
  
"I need to find her. Where would he take her?" Buffy said, impatiently.  
  
"Why? Oh, hey, I hope he's not a vampire, because then you might have to slay him," Xander replied teasingly, not exactly believing his own words. For Buffy, however, it was a different story.  
  
"Was there a-a school bulletin? Was it i-in the newspaper? Is there anyone in this town who doesn't know I'm the Slayer?" Buffy replied, flabbergasted.  
  
"All I know is you think you're the slayer. And the reason I know that is..." Xander was once again unable to finish his thought.  
  
"Well, whatever. Just tell me, where would Willow go?" Buffy said, starting back at square one.  
  
"You're serious," Xander said, shocked.  
  
"If we don't find her, there's going to be one more dead body in the morning," Buffy said, hoping to get through to him.  
  
"Well, I'd think the ice cream bar near Hamilton Street might be a good place to start," Xander said after thinking.  
  
"Ok. I'm going to make a quick call first," Buffy said, digging in her pocket for a quarter.  
  
Dialing the still foreign number to her house, she waited impatiently for someone to pick up. On the fourth ring, someone finally did.  
  
"H-hello. Summers' residence," said the voice on the other end. Buffy breathed a quick sigh of relief. Her mother didn't pick up.  
  
"Tara? It's Buffy. I need you to come here. I'm at the Bronze. You know where it is, right?" Buffy said, rather quickly.  
  
"Yeah. What's up? This better not be another one of your practical jokes," Tara said. She had gotten used to Buffy's quick instructions, and also gotten used to doubting them.  
  
"Vampire. He took Willow. I need all the help I can get," Buffy said, hoping Tara would believe her.  
  
"Oh. Well, ok, I'm on my way. I've gotta leave Mom a note, though. She's out looking for a spot for the Gallery again," Tara said.  
  
"Don't take too long," Buffy said, before hanging up.  
  
"Give her about 5 minutes," Buffy said to Xander, walking back over to him.  
  
"5 minutes? Do we have that long?" Xander said, his voice heavy with worry.  
  
"We should. They usually won't just grab someone and feed. They will want a quiet, dark...Oh, I know where they'd go!" Buffy shouted.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking quickly to the Bronze, Tara managed to get there without any incidents, and after being quickly briefed on the situation, the group of 3 were now walking quickly towards the cemetery.  
  
"Ok. You two, just make sure Willow gets out of here. I can take care of the guy," Buffy instructed, walking straight to the centre of the cemetery.  
  
Walking in, Buffy noticed that there was also a woman in the building, as was Jesse.  
  
"Well, this is nice. I-it's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows...call it home," Buffy mocked, hoping to buy some time.  
  
As Buffy and the two vamps continued to shoot comments back and forth, Tara and Xander had managed to sneak in behind and were now sitting beside Willow and Jesse.  
  
"Are you two ok?" Tara asked, whispering.  
  
"A little woozy," Jesse replied.  
  
Looking up, the group saw the first vampire dust. Tara silently cheered, while the other three gasped.  
  
Getting their cue to leave, Tara and Xander helped carry the other two out. They didn't get far, though, before running into another group of vampires.  
  
Thinking quickly, Tara said a couple words, and watched as a pair of vampires who got to close went up in flames.  
  
"Split up," she shouted to Xander, who was still stunned and speechless after Tara's display. Putting Jesse's arm around her shoulder, she started towards a small forest.  
  
They were quickly surrounded, however, and Tara was heavily drained, magic-wise, so she had no chance to defend herself. Within seconds, everything went black.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy had just gotten herself out of a tough jam against a very strong vampire, and was now looking around the cemetery for her companions.  
  
A growl and loud scream grabbed her attention, and within seconds, Buffy had knocked a vamp off Willow.  
  
After a short staring contest, Buffy finally gained her bearings again, and started to search for the others. Willow joined her, and soon found Xander, looking a little worse for wear while being dragged by a pair of vamps.  
  
"Xander!" Willow shouted, diverting attention to herself. This gave Buffy the chance to strike. Kicking the first vampire away, she quickly found a small twig on a nearby tree and staked the second vampire.  
  
Running up to the pair, Buffy saw Xander coming to. "Where's Jesse?"  
  
"We split up. He and that girl went off that way," he responded, pointing towards the small group of trees.  
  
Through all the panicking, Willow had yet to realize who 'that girl' was. "The girl with the odd face? My God, we've got to find them..."  
  
"No. The other girl. Who is she, anyway? And what was it that she did there?" Xander asked.  
  
"We can get to that later. You guys stay here. If you see anyone else, just shout," Buffy said, turning towards where Xander had pointed.  
  
About 5 minutes later, she had decided they'd disappeared, and hurried back to help Willow and Xander out of there.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Tara finally slid into consciousness, she was fairly aware of her surroundings.  
  
In the darkness, she wasn't able to make out too much, but the little she did see told her she was, once again, in a sewer system.  
  
"How often do we have to do this drill?" She whispered to herself, trying to stay as limp as possible, as to not draw the attention of whoever was dragging/carrying her.  
  
As they were dropped into what appeared to be some sort of holding cell, Tara kept one eye slightly open, waiting for the vampire to leave. As soon as she was sure she was alone, she sat bolt-upright, and quickly tested out her limbs.  
  
After that, she quickly realized she was actually well rested, and decided to cast a quick spell. As she noticed Jesse stirring next to her, she attempted to get his attention.  
  
"Jesse?" The queried, not entirely sure she had the name right.  
  
A groan was all she got in response. As the person's eyes opened, he was startled to see a person looking through bars beside him.  
  
"Who are you? What's going on?" The questions were loud and demanding.  
  
"Relax. Just come here, and everything will be fine," Tara replied, hoping he would let it slide for now. She didn't want to explain the whole thing. The vampires would probably do the job for her in a few minutes, anyway. Knowing them, they probably would brag about themselves.  
  
"Why should I trust you?" Jesse shot back, staring as though Tara had 3 heads.  
  
"Well, for one thing, I happen to be in the same predicament as you, and plus, would you rather trust me, or those disfigured people out in the hallway?" Tara said, getting a little impatient.  
  
After a second of contemplation, Jesse hesitantly walked towards the bars, and stood, looking cautiously at Tara. "Now what?"  
  
"Give me your hand," Tara said. After Jesse reluctantly did as he was told, Tara held it gently, and mumbled a couple words under her breath. "That will protect you from them. Anything they say, just do it. Nothing will happen to you within the next few hours, no matter what they say."  
  
Looking at his hand, then back up at Tara, Jesse found himself at a loss of words.  
  
"W-what are you, a witch?" He said, slowly backing up.  
  
"We prefer the word 'wiccan', but witch is a popular one, too," Tara responded, flashing a smile.  
  
At that moment, Jesse fainted again, and Tara could only sigh. "Buffy, please hurry. I don't think I can take this much longer."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking into the school library, Buffy cautiously looked around for Giles. The Watcher was not present, though, and Buffy sighed loudly, very frustrated.  
  
"Can't anyone be around when you need them?"  
  
Xander and Willow came in behind her a couple seconds later, looking shaken and confused, not to mention tired.  
  
"Is this all we can do?" Xander asked for about the one hundredth time. It had become pretty obvious to Buffy in the few hours that she'd known him that Xander wasn't one for sitting around.  
  
"Well, probably not, but this has happened many times. Tara's never failed, obviously. They should be fine. Her magic will keep them safe."  
  
"She's your sister?" Willow said, still not sure how true that confession was. Then again, they did look alike, at least to some extent. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and perhaps if Buffy wasn't a slayer, they'd have a similar build, too.  
  
"Blood kin. That's what she likes to call us, anyway. I've asked myself that question enough times to believe it's true, too," Buffy responded.  
  
Buffy took a spot near the front desk, leaning against the wall. Willow and Xander took seats around the main brown table.  
  
"Why didn't we go searching for them?" Xander asked, still a little bit angered at Buffy's insistence for waiting.  
  
"It would have been useless. Besides, we needed to make sure we got home. It could have taken the whole night to find them," Buffy replied.  
  
"Speaking of that, how did you explain Tara to your mother?" Willow responded, curious.  
  
"Well, she didn't notice she was gone until the morning, so I just said she went early to get caught up. It always works," Buffy replied smugly.  
  
"Hello," Giles greeted, coming in. "Willow, Xander...Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah, hi. We've got a few MIA's. Do you know much about this town, or should I start the aimless search?" Buffy replied, getting to the point, and ignoring the warning tone in her Watcher's voice.  
  
Moving towards Buffy, Giles kept his voice low. "Uh. Secret identity?"  
  
"Oh. Um, well, I'd like to know how long you can stay in the shadows with a town that is this attentive," Buffy shot back, trying in vain to defend herself.  
  
"Remember the 'never getting to tell anyone because I might endanger them' problem?" Scolded Giles.  
  
"W-well, I didn't tell them. At least not purposely...Anyway, we've got a couple missing people. We can deal with my lack of a secret identity after the conflict is solved," Buffy said, impatiently.  
  
"You're sitting here while there are people missing? Why aren't you out looking for them?" Giles said, agitated.  
  
"I tried that already. She didn't listen," Xander replied.  
  
"Tara can handle her own. Jesse will be fine, too," Buffy said, hoping to reassure them.  
  
"You left your own sister?" Giles asked, shocked.  
  
"How'd...Never mind. She can handle her own. She's disappeared a few times before. It always turned out that I would have been better off letting her do her thing instead of running like a chicken with her head cut off," Buffy responded, growing frustrated.  
  
"Well, what leads do we have?" Giles said, looking for some information.  
  
"Beyond a few vamps whose intent was to take as many kids as they could, there's nothing," Buffy replied. "By the time I started looking for them, they could have just 'voom'."  
  
"They can fly?" Xander asked, confused.  
  
"They can drive," Buffy clarified.  
  
"I don't remember hearing a car," Willow offered, trying to recall the previous night's ordeal.  
  
"Let's take an enormous intuitive leap, shall we, and say they went underground," Giles threw in sarcastically.  
  
"Vampires really jam on sewer systems," Buffy filled in. "You can get anywhere in the entire town without catching any rays. But I didn't see any access around there."  
  
"Well, there's an electrical tunnel that runs under the whole town," Xander informed the group.  
  
"If we had a diagnostic of the tunnel system it might indicate a, a meeting place, it would, uh...I suppose we could go to the building commission," Giles said, hoping to come up with something useful.  
  
"We so don't have time," Buffy said, knowing it could take a day just to get a chance to talk to someone.  
  
"Uh, guys? There may be another way," Willow said, tentatively.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Feeling bored, Tara tried to listen to the vampires gloating, but after hearing things similar in the past couple years, it was beginning to wear thin. Jesse, on the other hand, was fascinated by what he was hearing, not to mention petrified.  
  
"I thought you guys as nothing more than a meal. Congratulations, you've just been upgraded to bait," the one that was known as Luke said, stepping towards them dangerously.  
  
Despite the situation, Tara couldn't help but roll her eyes. Knowing the next move, she made no move to avoid it, and tried her best to make sure Jesse did the same. A pair of vampires approached, and began draining blood from both apparent victims.  
  
Despite the real feel to the occurrence, Tara knew it was just the spell, and started counting her lucky stars for perhaps the 20th time in her life, and she collapsed.  
  
The vampire blood still wore on her, and she couldn't help but scream bloody murder in her mind as it was forced into her. Next to her, she heard a mumble from Jesse, who still didn't know exactly what was going on, nor did he know how lucky he was at the moment.  
  
About 5 minutes later, both were chained, and left in open space, where the vampires knew they would be found by the slayer in due time.  
  
As Tara felt the spell begin to wear off, her strength returned, and so did the horrible taste in her mouth. Keeping her eyes closed, she softly nudged Jesse, and whispered to him to keep still. They were still being watched, and if it was apparent that the pair were not vampires, they wouldn't be very lucky again.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"What about there?" Xander pointed for the umpteenth time in the past few minutes. Another shake by the redhead working the computer caused Xander to groan.  
  
"There it is," Buffy said, sure of herself.  
  
"That runs under the graveyard," Willow confirmed.  
  
"I don't see any access," Xander added, discouraged.  
  
"So, all the city plans are just, uh, open to the public?" Giles said, confused.  
  
"Um, well, i-in a way. I sort of stumbled onto them when I accidentally decrypted the city council's security system," Willow said, trying to keep it inconspicuous.  
  
"Someone's been naughty," Xander said. He'd gotten very used to saying that when he was around Willow with a computer.  
  
"There's nothing here. This is useless," Buffy said, her frustration getting the better of her.  
  
"I think you're being a bit hard on yourself," Giles said.  
  
"You're the one that told me that I wasn't prepared enough. Understatement! I thought I was on top of everything, and then that monster, Luke, came out of nowhere..." Buffy paused, thinking.  
  
"What?" Xander asked, growing impatient. Buffy had just figured out something important, he was sure, and he was still unsure about the whole vampire thing, let alone the whole underground sewer idea.  
  
"He didn't come out of nowhere. He came from behind me," Buffy pieced it together. "I was facing the entrance, he came from behind me, and he didn't follow me out. The access to the tunnels is in the mausoleum! They must have snuck back behind us after I reached Xander. God! I am so mentally challenged!"  
  
"So what's the plan, we saddle up?" Xander asked, eagerly.  
  
"There's no 'we'," Buffy replied, growing a little impatient herself. "I'm the slayer. I have to do this alone."  
  
"I get it. I'm inadequate, less than a man," Xander said, his ego given a large shot.  
  
Relenting, Buffy decided that she could use the backup. After all, if the pair of them were any worse they were last time Tara had disappeared, she could use the extra strength.  
  
"Oh, fine. But no fighting. Stick behind me, and don't do anything I don't tell you to," she relented.  
  
After Willow had received her own instructions, the pair were off on their rescue mission. Task one was getting past Principal Flutie.  
  
Once that problem was averted, mostly by Xander finding an alternate way around, and Buffy jumping over the tall fence, they continued their way off to the cemetery.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Entering the mausoleum, Buffy quickly located a door at the back, and motioned for Xander to follow. Just as they reached it, Buffy heard someone behind her.  
  
"I don't suppose you've got a key on you," Buffy said, startling Xander beside her.  
  
"W-well, no..." He started quietly, before realizing it wasn't him she was talking to. Spinning around, he saw a man dressed mostly in black.  
  
"They really don't like me dropping in," he responded.  
  
Spinning around, Buffy looked at him with annoyance. "Why not?"  
  
"They really don't like me," the stranger replied, matter-of-factly.  
  
"How could that possibly be?" Buffy asked, sarcastically.  
  
"I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later. Actually, I thought it was gonna be a little sooner," he said, changing the topic.  
  
"Sorry you had to wait," Buffy shot back. "Okay. Look, if you're gonna be popping up with this Cryptic Wise Man act on a regular basis, can you at least tell me your name?"  
  
"Angel," he replied.  
  
"Angel? Well, it's not the most normal name, but better than 'Satan', right?" Xander finally spoke up, though Buffy really wished he hadn't.  
  
"What's with the kid? Tag along?" Angel said, somewhat humored.  
  
Huffing, Buffy turned towards the door again, ready to force it open.  
  
"Don't...go down there," Angel warned half-heartedly.  
  
"Deal with my going," Buffy retorted, turning back around.  
  
"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. Tonight is the Harvest. Unless you can prevent it, the Master walks," Angel warned.  
  
"Well, if this Harvest thing is such a suck-fest, why don't you stop it?" Buffy inquired impatiently.  
  
"'Cause I'm afraid," Angel replied, a hint of laughter in his voice.  
  
Spinning around again, Buffy threw all her strength into a kick that sent the door flying open, ending with a large bang as it hit the wall. Turning back around to face the apparent coward, Buffy just stared for a minute.  
  
"They'll be expecting you," Angel warned, more serious this time.  
  
"I've got a couple friends down there. Or at least a potential friend, and a family member. Do you know what it's like to have a friend?" Buffy replied, waiting for a wisecrack answer back. When it didn't come, she looked curiously at Angel. "That wasn't supposed to be a stumper."  
  
Taking a glance at the pair, Angel decided to drop the warning, and give them some directions. Perhaps they could make it through this little rescue mission.  
  
"When you hit the tunnels head east towards the school," he supplied. "That's where you're likely to find them."  
  
"Gonna wish us luck?" Buffy inquired, staring intently at Angel.  
  
After a few moments of waiting, Buffy turned, and lead the way into the tunnels.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
After a few minutes of aimless walking, and slayage talk with Xander, Buffy finally noticed they were getting somewhere. "We're close."  
  
"How can you tell," Xander asked, confused.  
  
"No more rats," Buffy said, somewhat unnerved.  
  
Turning the flashlight Xander had unwittingly brought with him, Xander began searching around for something.  
  
"Jesse!" He shouted, gaining Buffy's attention. He was lying in the middle of the tunnel, with his leg chained. Behind him, she could make out Tara's figure, too.  
  
Watching her stir, she saw Jesse stand up, and Xander quickly walk up towards him.  
  
"You're late," Tara said, matter-of-factly.  
  
"Well, Angel stalled us for a few minutes. Is he really on our side? I'm still not sure," Buffy replied.  
  
"Angel?" Tara asked, curious.  
  
"Are you ok?" Xander spoke up, not hearing, or perhaps ignoring, the conversations between the two women.  
  
"I'm not ok on an epic scale," Jesse replied, extremely freaked.  
  
Looking at the chains, Buffy immediately broke them both. The noise was loud, though. Too loud.  
  
"Do you think anyone heard that?" Xander asked, stupidly.  
  
Looking around, Buffy caught the shadows running towards them.  
  
"Always with the brute force," Tara muttered. "Well, let's go!"  
  
"They knew you were going to come. They said that I...we were the bait," Jesse threw in, looking at Tara.  
  
"Oh, great, now you tell us," Xander said, sarcastically.  
  
Running around the corner, the group ran into a couple vampires blocking the way to the tunnels.  
  
"Is there another way out?" Buffy asked, looking between the pair.  
  
"I-I don't remember. What about that way?" Tara tried, thinking fast.  
  
Leading the way, Tara found herself back in the face of another vampire before they made it too far. Screeching, she turned back, trying to remember something. Coming up with blanks, she starting leading the group aimlessly around the tunnels.  
  
Making it into a dead end, Tara decided to hope they could find some way through the chamber that lay in front of them.  
  
"In here!" She shouted, making a quick turn.  
  
"I don't think this is the way out," Buffy said, growing agitated, not to mention freaked.  
  
"Just keep looking," Tara said, determined.  
  
"We can't fight our way back through those things. What do we do?" Xander said.  
  
Thinking fast, Tara though she'd put that theory to the test. Looking back towards the hallway, she sent a quick spell towards the approaching vampires. No luck.  
  
"Well, so much for that," Tara supplied. Muttering a couple more words, the door slammed shut, and she was now looking around.  
  
Xander used his flashlight, and quickly found what looked like an air duct. "What about up there?"  
  
Buffy looked up, and decided it was the best solution. The banging on the door made her agree once again.  
  
Within seconds, Jesse and Xander were through, while Tara attempted to join them. As soon as Buffy jumped up behind her, the door creaked open.  
  
"Hurry up!" She shouted. She heard the manhole cover lifted, and then heard a pair of hands grasp the opening behind her, pulling their way up.  
  
As she reached the opening, Buffy heard the vampire behind her quickly approaching, and reached up, finding Xander's hand ready to pull her up.  
  
Just when she thought she was home free, she felt a hand grasp her leg, pulling her down again. Her screech got the attention of Tara, who moved over and grasped Buffy's other hand, effectively pulling her leg into the sun.  
  
Falling back with Xander, Buffy looked up, and sighed. "Another productive day on the job."  
  
"Well, I, for one, am happy to see the sun again. I'm never comfortable until I'm back in it," Tara replied.  
  
"Well, lets get back," Buffy said after a few minutes of resting.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking into the library about an hour later, they were surprised to find that it had not been deserted yet.  
  
"Did you find Jesse?" Willow asked, looking up.  
  
"Yeah, we found him. He went home. He's a little out of it," Buffy replied.  
  
"W-well, that's good," Willow stated.  
  
"Anything up?" Tara asked, spotting Giles, not to mention his books.  
  
"How about: the end of the world?" Giles said.  
  
"Well, isn't that great," Buffy said, sighing.  
  
"Here's what we know: some sixty years ago, a very old, very powerful vampire came to this shore, not just to feed."  
  
"He came 'cause this town's a mystical who's it?" Buffy supplied.  
  
"Well, yes. The Spanish that first settled here called it 'Boca del Infierno'. Roughly translated, 'Hellmouth'. It's a sort of, um, portal between this reality and the next. This vampire hopes to open it."  
  
"Bring the demons back," Tara said before Buffy could react, shuddering at the thought.  
  
"End of the world," Xander said, copying Tara's reaction.  
  
"But he blew it!" Willow threw in suddenly. "Or, I mean, there was an earthquake that swallowed half the town, and him, too."  
  
"You see," Giles started again. "Opening dimensional portals is tricky business. Odds are he got himself stuck, rather like a, uh, cork in a bottle."  
  
"And this Harvest thing is to get him out," Xander stated, putting two-and-two together.  
  
"It comes once in a century, on this night," Giles nodded. "The Master can draw power from one of his minions while it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal. The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol."  
  
Walking up to the board he had set up, he drew what was best described as a three-pointed star.  
  
"So, I dust anyone sporting that symbol, and no Harvest?" Buffy asked, wondering why it always sounded so easy in her head.  
  
"Simply put, yes," Giles confirmed.  
  
"Any ideas on a location," Tara asked.  
  
"There...there are a number of possibilities," Giles said, unsure of himself.  
  
"They're going to the Bronze," Xander stated.  
  
"Are you sure?" Willow asked. She was still a bit on edge from the previous evening.  
  
"Come on, all those tasty young morsels all over the place," Xander said, trying to make his point.  
  
"He's right," Tara confirmed.  
  
"I've gotta make a stop. Won't take long," Buffy said.  
  
"Why?" Xander asked, impatient.  
  
"Supplies," Buffy and Tara replied simultaneously.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As she walked up her driveway, Buffy cringed as she saw her mother's 4x4 sitting in it, and the lights on inside the house.  
  
"Ok. You guys, start towards the Bronze. We'll catch up. It shouldn't take too long," Buffy ordered, taking a tentative step towards the door.  
  
"Why can't we come in? It's cold out here," Xander complained.  
  
"Trust me; you don't want to come in. Our mother is deadly with new friends. We want to get to the Bronze tonight, not next century," Tara responded, following Buffy.  
  
Walking in, Buffy heard the shower running, and silently cheered.  
  
"Hurry up. Maybe we can be out of here before she's done," Buffy said, rushing up the stairs.  
  
"Might not be a great idea. You know the ideas she gets when we avoid her," Tara said, shaking her head.  
  
"Well, how about you make her a note while I pack? You always seem to enjoy that," Buffy replied, walking into her room. When her sister rushed back down the stairs, she started to fulfill her end of the bargain.  
  
Walking over to open her window slightly, she made sure her door was closed before heading out.  
  
"Ready?" She asked as she approached the door.  
  
"We're all set. Let's go." Tara replied.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
After catching up with the rest of the gang, they hurried off to the Bronze.  
  
Finding the back door locked, the group proceeded to split up, with Xander, Willow and Giles heading to the other door, while Buffy looked to get in from the roof and Tara looked for a way to get through the locked door.  
  
Standing in front of the door, Tara was starting to feel exhausted, and the door still had not budged. She'd tried to move the door off its hinges, but she wasn't able to do anything more than rattle it a bit, and then tried to set it on fire, but, being a pretty strong metal, the door remained standing right in its place as the smoke cleared.  
  
Extremely frustrated, Tara was about to charge the door when an idea came to her. She'd been looking at ways to bust through the door, when using the everyday way would probably prove successful. Staring at the doorknob, she used all the strength she had left, and forced it to turn, effectively breaking the rather cheep lock, and letting the door swing open. Luckily, none of the evil occupants in the Bronze saw or heard it, and Tara squeezed herself into the dark building.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Tara went through her challenge with the front door, Buffy had leaped her way up to the roof and had found an upper window to crawl through.  
  
Looking around at her surroundings, she could hear the screams coming from just beyond the edge of the floor, and then noticed the vampire standing guard at its edge. Catching him by surprise from behind, the vampire hit the ground hard, getting the attention of everyone below.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you in the middle of something?" Buffy remarked sarcastically.  
  
"You!" Was the response she got.  
  
"You didn't think I'd miss this, did you?" She replied to the rather simple comment.  
  
"I hoped you'd come," the vampire, Luke, replied.  
  
"Be right down," Buffy warned, moving back a bit.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Tara listened to the exchange between the two on the stage, she walked over to the other entrance, effectively flaming a couple vampires on her way before opening the door.  
  
As the group got the patrons out of the bar, Tara couldn't help but steal a glance at the stage, and found herself caught up in the battle taking place. This got her mind off the scenery around her, and feeling the vampire lunge at her from behind, she could only make a small 'umph' sound as she was dragged to the ground.  
  
Using all the strength she had left trying to keep the vampire above her so as to keep her neck scratch-free, Tara felt herself losing the battle quickly. Despite her strong abilities with magic, one thing she never mastered was keeping her strength throughout it all.  
  
"Get off of her!" The voice startled Tara, though in her current predicament, it was equally surprising to her that she could have been freaked out more.  
  
She felt the figure on top of her turn towards the voice, and then felt the coolness of water on her cheek. Opening her eyes slightly, she could make out the white smoke coming from the vampire's head, not to mention the screams that had basically made her go deaf on the spot.  
  
Shakily getting to her feet with the help of her rescuer, she finally got a clear look to see it was Willow. Her new hero, Tara thought.  
  
Quickly regaining her composure, she looked back to the stage just in time to see Buffy raise something metal over her head. Watching with utmost interest, Tara watched it as it made its way right over the vessel's head and through the glass that was behind it, revealing a light fixture.  
  
Thankful for Buffy's resourcefulness and wit, Tara looked next to the stage to see Xander grabbed up by a couple vampires who thought they'd just stumbled upon a good hostage. However, as Tara expected, they ended up reaching the stage just as Luke dusted, causing them to stand stunned before running off.  
  
Mentally dusting her hands off, Tara walked up towards the stage, meeting up with the rest of the group.  
  
"Did we win?" Willow spoke up, unsure, and perhaps a little freaked.  
  
"We averted the apocalypse," Buffy replied. "Give us points for that."  
  
"Well, one thing's for sure. Nothing's ever gonna be the same," Xander replied.  
  
Tara couldn't resist a chuckle, before a couple strange looks caused her to switch to a soft cough just before she spoke, "Just wait until tomorrow."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
That night, Buffy and Tara had their first good sleep in Sunnydale.  
  
Waking up in the morning and completing her normal routine, Buffy made her way downstairs for breakfast, hoping she wouldn't be forced to suffer the same fate as she had the past couple mornings: Mom-cooking.  
  
Thankfully, she found an egg omelet that had 'Tara-cooking' written all over it. Sitting down and quickly digging into the treat, she failed to notice the other two figures in the room.  
  
"I'm saying two minutes before she finishes. How about you?" Her mom spoke up, straight-faced and serious. The sound startled Buffy out of her wits as she looked up.  
  
"Definitely two minutes," Tara replied, grinning.  
  
Groaning at the pair, Buffy resumed her eating while her mother walked out of the room. As she returned, she had with her the morning's newspaper, and was curiously looking at the front page.  
  
"What is it?" Tara spoke up, coming over to read over her mother's shoulder.  
  
"'A young, unidentified girl was seen last night at the Bronze in the middle of what has been described as a gang war by local police. The police have labeled her as the hero in what was otherwise considered to be an extremely ruthless attack on patrons in the bar,'" their mother read. "You guys were there last night, weren't you? Are you ok?"  
  
"We're fine," Buffy reassured, not looking up. "We got out right away. They weren't good at blocking the back doors."  
  
"Good. That's good. I never like that place from the minute I heard about it. Is this a normal occurrence for that place?" Their mother continued, her expression slightly distressed.  
  
"I'm not sure," Buffy replied, knowing that it probably was. "But I heard they were going to put extra security up somewhere. I'm sure it's safe."  
  
"Well, ok," their mother relented. "Well, we'd better get off to school. You don't want to be late for your second day..."  
  
"Or our third day, or our fourth. Let's just go," Tara cut off, rolling her eyes.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As the bell rang, Buffy ran out of her history classroom and hurried outside.  
  
"I can't get far away enough from that place," she whispered to herself, shuddering. Add to the fact that her next class was at the other side of the school, and she was barely able to contain herself from running across the field outside at full speed.  
  
Stopping as she heard a familiar voice, she turned her head slightly in its direction.  
  
"Well, I heard it was rival gangs," Cordelia said. "You know, fighting for turf? But all I can tell you is they were an ugly way of looking. And Buffy, like, knew them! Which is just too weird. I mean, I don't even remember that much, but I'm telling you, it was a freak show!"  
  
"Oh, I wish I'd been there," the girl next to her replied, her voice lined with regret.  
  
"You should have been there. It was so creepy!" Cordelia replied, turning back towards the school.  
  
Continuing her long, torturous walk, Buffy saw Xander was staring where the pair of girls were just a few moments before.  
  
"What exactly were you expecting?" She asked him, as he regained his composure and followed her lead.  
  
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Something. The dead rose, we should have at least had an assembly," he continued, although it was pretty obvious he had an ulterior motive for wanting an assembly.  
  
As they reached the other side of the school, they found Willow, Tara and Giles standing there.  
  
"People have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't," Giles filled in, as he walked beside Xander.  
  
"Believe me, I've seen it happen," Buffy nodded.  
  
"Well, I'll never forget it," Willow exclaimed, slightly perturbed by what she was just told. "Any of it."  
  
"Good! Next time you'll be prepared," Giles replied.  
  
"Next time?" Xander repeated with a slight bit of excitement in his voice.  
  
"Next time is why?" Willow asked, more on the side of disbelieving.  
  
"Well, we've stopped the Master from freeing himself and opening the Mouth of Hell. That's not to say he's going to stop trying," Giles explained, getting a glint in his eye. "I'd say the fun is just beginning."  
  
"More vampires?" Willow squeaked, unsure as to whether she could handle all this, even with her thirst for knowledge dripping.  
  
"Not just vampires," Giles said, a large pocket of excitement in his voice. "The next threat we face may be quite different."  
  
"Maybe witches?" Xander replied, sharing in Giles' enthusiasm.  
  
"Witches aren't evil," Buffy shot back, quickly. She then looked at Tara who shrugged.  
  
"W-well, I've heard of s-some that have, um, taken to using dark powers. I-It's not impossible," she said, looking down.  
  
"I can hardly wait," Buffy replied, trying to force the sarcasm into her voice. However, try as she might, she couldn't keep her own excitement from bubbling to the surface. She wanted to get into it with something...  
  
"We're at the centre of a mystical convergence here," Giles replied, suddenly lecturing the group. "We may, in fact, stand between the Earth and its total destruction."  
  
"Well, I've got to look at the bright side. Maybe I can still get kicked out of school," Buffy replied, hoping to find some idea to grasp a hold off as they walked towards class.  
  
"Oh, yeah, that's a plan. Cause lots of schools aren't on Hellmouths," Xander shot back.  
  
"Maybe you could blow something up. They're really strict about that," Willow said, trying to come up with ideas.  
  
"Already did that. I think we need something new, don't you?" Tara replied, looking over at Buffy.  
  
"But, then again, why mess with the classics?" Xander replied, looking at them.  
  
"Well, I was thinking a more subtle approach," Buffy said, thinking. "Like, 'excessive not studying'"  
  
Nodding to each other, they turned the corner and entered the school.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The End

  
  
_A/N: Well, that was, well, interesting. And kind of fun. I must have watched Eps 1 & 2 a hundred times while writing this, trying to find the perfect spots to insert Tara. Not sure how it turned out, really, but I'm happy with it, and isn't that all that matters? :)  
  
For the next installment, I'm going to make a whole episode from scratch. There will be little things in it that will follow the real show, but the story itself will be fresh and new. I've just got a thing for altering a story that was already made, so I want to jump off that bandwagon before I go insane with it.  
  
That's about all. Happy reading!  
_


	2. Who Am I?

  
_A/N: Hey. Time for Chapter 2. As I mentioned, this one will be written from scratch by me. There will still be notes made about what happened in the past that could be considered spoiler material, but it is mostly new.  
  
For the title of this chapter, I will say I did take it as an alteration of season 4's episode 'Who Are You?'. However, beyond that, there is no similarities between this story and the season 4 episode.  
  
Oh, and to note, I forgot to put it into the first chapter, this WILL be W/T for the majority of it, although for the first few episodes it will basically be a reserved thing by the two, mostly subtle actions and not so subtle thoughts. X/C and B/A will occur during the 2nd season, like in the real thing, but I'm not sure how long I'll let them last (though I don't think X/C will last, since I find that pair just slightly annoying). Also, there will be more Willow/Xander friendship, since I feel they didn't show it as much as I believe they should have in the actual series. Sue me if you don't like it. Well, actually, don't. PLEASE!  
  
Ahem. Anyway, just because I think it's worth it, I'd like to respond to the review by manticore-gurl071134 just because I'm so flattered by it:  
  
Manticore – I'm glad someone likes my idea. I've seen so many "Willow meets Tara in Season (insert season here)" where Tara is still Tara, but something has caused her to come to Sunnydale a year or 2 early, or to never come to Sunnydale until after season 4. The reason I got tired of those was because there's no new story for Tara. It's the same old 'left home to go to college to get away from her icky family'. This idea gives a fresh look at a possible past for Tara, where things change, but she's still the same character. Plus, bringing her in for the beginning was pretty inviting, too. Oh, and as for Jesse, it's just the first chapter. He'll show up pretty often, though he's fair game if I decide to kill him, due to him not being a core scooby. :)  
  
Well, now on to the story. Enjoy!  
_   
  
Spoilers: None of note, though there may still be some spoilers for the first 2 episodes of the real series, though, nothing beyond what was already revealed in the last chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got a lot of the information for my stories from www.buffyworld.com/. Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :)  
  
Summary: As the group tries to get used to the idea of supernatural beings, Buffy find herself in a brain-less situation, in more ways then one!  
  
Legend: Still the same as previous, though if there are flashbacks, they'll appear in italics.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


**Buffy: The Vampire Slayer – My Way!**

  
  


**Season 1: Once Again, From The Top**

  
  


**By: David Armstrong (With Help From Joss Whedon)**

  
  


**Episode 2: Who Am I?**

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
It was the end of Buffy's third day at Sunnydale High, and she found herself surprisingly starting to like the place. It had a feel to it that she hadn't had since, well, since before she was called as the Chosen One. The bustle of the students, the laughter, the teachers shouting. Yes, this was very familiar to Buffy.  
  
"Of course, Giles has to ruin that. Why did I agree to this, anyway?" Buffy asked herself, frustrated. Of course, it was Tara that had told her that she might as well do it, though she admitted that Willow and Xander had to be a part of the reason she agreed, too.  
  
The two were beginning to become an important part of her life, she knew. They had spent the past day exchanging stories. Ok, so Xander had forced Buffy to tell her life-experiences as a slayer, though she was happy to share them.  
  
Reaching the library, Buffy snapped out of her day-dream, and wandered into the room. She was surprised when she saw Willow and Xander sitting at the table, reading books. Well, Willow was reading a book, while Xander kept pointing at things, and smiling stupidly.  
  
"And that. That is so cool! I mean, who wouldn't want to have horns like that. Oh, well…I guess we don't. But still! That's so cool!" Xander rambled, getting a horrid look from Willow, and a humored glance from Buffy, though he never noticed the latter.  
  
"I thought that the library was off-limits right now," Buffy said, startling the pair.  
  
"Oh, Buffy. We thought we'd come in and get in some studying. Well, not studying as in the school work type studying. But, if you don't want us here," Willow babbled on, once again causing Buffy to hold in her laughter.  
  
"N-no, it's alright by me," Buffy reassured the two before they could get up. "I'm wondering about what Giles thinks. Where is he, anyway?"  
  
"Well, you are over 10 minutes late. He went out looking for you. I'm sure he'll be back soon," Xander replied, casting what he hoped was a stern look at Buffy. When she just stared at him, he rolled it into a grin, and turned back to the book.  
  
"Well, why don't we engross ourselves into that book of yours? I'm not up with the latest in Demonology. Perhaps I've missed something in these pass few months," Buffy said, moving towards the two lifetime friends.  
  
"Few months? What have you been doing in that time, hiding in a den?" Xander asked.  
  
"Well, there are nasty things that live in dens. I looked more at houses that I don't invite strange things into," Buffy replied.  
  
The two still had a lot to learn about the world of the undead. At that moment, Willow managed to shoot that point home for Buffy.  
  
"Invite? Why invite?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Most creatures need to be invited into private places. They can walk into a public place like, say, the Bronze, but they can't enter your house unless you say something like 'please come in, nasty dead thing,'" Buffy explained. She then added, as an afterthought: "Apparently, zombies don't fit under that category, though."  
  
Upon the blank stare, Buffy got ready to enter her long story mode. However, Giles walked in, causing her to turn around and shoot a glare at the figure.  
  
"You have the worst timing ever. I guess you are a watcher, then," Buffy said, annoyed.  
  
"Oh. Well, um," Giles stumbled, trying to grasp a hold of some way to respond to the slayer. "If you'd been here on time, none of this would have happened, now would it?"  
  
The weak argument had Buffy staring blankly at the poor watcher. The two sitting at the table were intently looking at the book again, which caught his attention.  
  
"And you two, aren't you supposed to be off school grounds by now?" Giles said, staring pointedly at the unsuspecting pair. Looking up, both pointed at their chests, before getting up to walk out.  
  
As the two slouched out of the room, Buffy spoke up. "I'm sure Tara's not exactly enjoying trying to survive at home right now. Why don't you go over and save her? She probably would be happy to tell you the story herself."  
  
As the two nodded wildly, Buffy watched them run off out of the school library, with Willow squealing and Xander apparently quite a ways ahead.  
  
Looking back at her watcher, Buffy couldn't help but grin.  
  
"Are you sure that was wise?" He asked her. All he got in return was an odd look, and a frown.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm wise. I don't do anything not wise," Buffy said, defending herself rather lamely.  
  
"Well, it's enough that they know you're the slayer, but do you really have to indulge them in your life history?" Giles said, giving a disapproving look at Buffy.  
  
"W-well, knowing I'm the slayer, they're in danger. I-if I tell them what I've done, perhaps they can take it as experience that they haven't experienced," Buffy said, attempting to lessen Giles' anxiety. "Besides, with the guests, my mother won't notice I'm not around."  
  
Shaking his head, Giles got down to business. He had a slayer to train.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As Xander finally stopped running, he looked back, trying to catch his breath, and caught sight of the redhead who was struggling to hurry up to him. As Willow stopped, she somehow managed to take a couple quick deep breaths as she attempted to catch hers as well.  
  
"Xander," She began. She had to stop before she could get another word out, as she tried to get her breathing to even out once again. "Xander," She repeated, as she managed to breathe normally, though still a little deeply. "How come you are not on the track team?"  
  
"Well, that involves running for no reason. I don't like that kind of exertion," he replied, looking at her.  
  
"In other words, you're a lazy bum?" She replied, smiling. The smile quickly disappeared when Xander got an evil glint in his eye. Turning around, Willow ran screaming down the street, attempting to remind herself of the path to Buffy's house.  
  
It's Tara's house, too, Willow reminded herself. Suddenly, she wondered why she felt so aggressive when she did so.  
  
As she hit the driveway she mostly remembered due to the 4x4 in it she had seen the past two days, first when the group went to pick up supplies, and secondly when they saw Buffy and Tara picked up in it after school the other day, the thought ran out of Willow's mind as she ran up to ring the doorbell quickly. Looking over her shoulder, Willow watched Xander's deliberately slow approach, and turned back to the door, basically trying to will it open.  
  
As Xander finally made his way up the porch, he quickly had Willow squirming on the ground with laughter while he pulled his best 'tickle-monster' impression.  
  
As they heard the door open, Xander quickly regained his feet and attempted to look as normal as possible. Willow had a tougher time, and ended up only being able to look up as the person opening the door became visible.  
  
Suddenly, Willow felt her stomach tighten as she got a clear look at Tara standing in the doorway. As she continued to gawk, she somehow realized she was still lying on the grass, slightly out of breath from the running, and the laughing. She didn't know what to make of the feeling in her stomach, so she shrugged it off and stood beside Xander.  
  
"Hey," Xander spoke up tentatively. "Buffy said, um, to drop by. She has to train with Giles, and we don't have any plans tonight, so we thought we'd get acquainted with this place."  
  
"S-sure," Tara replied, shyly moving aside to let the guests in.  
  
Leading them to the living room, she took a seat on a chair, while the two self-proclaimed 'guests' took a seat across from her on their couch.  
  
"So, B-Buffy recommended our house of boxes to you to check out to fill you plan-less night?" Tara asked, skeptical.  
  
"W-well, not exactly," Willow replied.  
  
"She was going to tell us another wacky tale before Giles interrupted. So, we came here, on her advice, to let you tell it," Xander said, not letting Willow finish her sentence. Although, in his defense, Willow wasn't sure she would have been able to while she stared straight forward at Tara. The only words that were filtering through Willow's mind at the moment were; "what is wrong with me?"  
  
"W-which one, exactly?" Tara asked, hesitantly. Buffy loved to brag a bit about herself, but Tara never had the nerve to do the same.  
  
"Um. Something about zombies. Sounded pretty cool," Xander said, looking over at Willow for confirmation.  
  
Slowly noticing the glance beside her, Willow turned, before nodding her head absent-mindedly. Xander didn't let that go unnoticed, and though he didn't say anything, he was suddenly curious about his old friend's behavior the past few minutes.  
  
"Oh, right, I-I remember that," Tara said, shuddering at the thought. "Well, we were at a party, and a-as I recall, Buffy and I w-were having an argument about..." Tara paused, as her face went though a couple more emotions before she continued, "Well, s-s-something that I hadn't t-told her, and, as always, we were n-near a window, and the next thing we knew, i-it was broken, and there were three pale, u-ugly people standing around us. Since they came through the window without any barrier blocking them, we knew they weren't v-vampires, and it also cancelled out a number of other possibilities, since most of them need invites. You knew that, right?" She asked, pausing to catch the two nod. "Anyway, she m-managed to find out that they were zombies, and that they were being controlled by s-something around the neck of one of them. So, she cut off its head, grabbed the object, and broke it in half, which caused the other two to disappear, but the third kept advancing without its head. At that moment, I r-recalled that the object controlling them needed to be completely destroyed, so I grabbed it up, and threw it into a fireplace. Of course, it cause the f-fire to explode, which knocked us both back into la-la land. On the bright side, it did work."  
  
"Wow," was all that Xander could let out, as he sat transfixed on Tara.  
  
Willow, on the other hand, couldn't speak at all, and also had her eyes glued to Tara, though neither of the other occupants of the room knew the real reason why. Though she had figured out what was happening to her in the past few minutes, Willow still refused to acknowledge it, even though the fact that she just couldn't tear her eyes off Tara wouldn't remove itself from her mind.  
  
"Well, I'm going to check up with mom. I'm sure she's trying to find something to talk to at the moment," Tara said, getting up. "You guys here just for the story, or would you be interested in a special meal?"  
  
"That sounds good. Anything would beat takeout at my place," Xander answered with a smile.  
  
As Willow continued her staring, she felt a nudge, and quickly nodded, throwing in a mindless 'uh huh' as Tara made her way up the stairs.  
  
Xander, this time, didn't let Willow's drifting go unquestioned, and he inquired about what was up. "What's going on in that computer brain of yours, Will?"  
  
"Huh?" She responded, still a little dazed. "Oh, umm, well, I'm still not used to this whole supernatural thing. I mean, headless zombies? That's a tough concept for anyone to get their head around."  
  
Letting it pass, Xander managed to nod his head as he let his mind wander a little as well.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, Tara was heading towards her mother's room. Her mind, however, was lying in a land that was covered in red.  
  
Despite her rather relaxed nature on the outside, she was extremely edgy inside while near Willow. She'd gotten to know her quite well on a number of levels, though for the most part, they still mostly just talked about school work, and studied while together.  
  
From what she'd gathered so far, Tara knew that Willow was as shy as she was, but had a mouth that could have run a horseless buggy for a couple months.  
  
She also found herself testing out a technique she'd read in a book recently on Willow. While they were studying in the school library, she closed her eyes, and focused on Willow, trying to get a sense of what she was feeling. It was the moment that Tara figured was causing what appeared to her as a crush. What she saw was that Willow was extremely selfless and caring.  
  
As words, and finding out people were like that through experience was one thing, Tara had told herself that night. But when you feel them like that, it's so overwhelming.  
  
There was one other thing she noticed, and she fought hard to ignore it at the time. Willow was obviously very unsatisfied with herself. Tara surmised that Willow wanted to do everything, and even too much, that was in her power to make others happy, and Tara knew this could be a bad thing if the wrong person felt that way. However, for the time being, Tara saw nothing beyond extreme frustration coming out of Willow's feelings.  
  
As Tara found herself standing in her mother's room, she noticed her mother walking out of the room, and instantly recalled the words she said while in her, excuse the pun, zombie-like state.  
  
_*Flashback*  
  
"Mom? I've asked my friends…Um, our friends, if they want to stay for dinner." Tara said.  
  
"Oh, that's great, honey. Should I get the china from the basement?" Her mother replied, heading down the stairs before getting her answer.  
  
*End flashback*_  
  
Ok, so Tara's mind was _living_ in the land covered in red. Hurrying down after her mother, she attempted to try and downplay her friend's eat-over.  
  
"I don't think it's china-worthy, mom. They're friends, not potential sellers for your gallery or something," Tara tried, though she already knew it was fruitless.  
  
"Any guests of my daughters are china-worthy. And besides, I don't want to chat over paper plates," her mother replied.  
  
"W-well, I guess we do need to unpack quite a bit, don't we?" Tara said, remembering that their everyday plates were still sitting in a box somewhere in the kitchen.  
  
As she watched her mother descend into the basement, she decided to head back to Willow and Xander, who were in the middle of a chat about pencils of some sort.  
  
"Hey, guys? Umm, just a warning, but mom's gotten the china set. That means a lot of talking. I wouldn't talk too much until then," she said, slightly humored.  
  
"Great!" Xander said, though the comment didn't have the zing it should have.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"Mmmm. That was great," Xander said, leaning back against his chair, more from exhaustion from talking almost non-stop the past hour than the heavy feeling in his stomach.  
  
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Tara shouted from the kitchen.  
  
"I don't think I want to see anything else," Willow shouted back, groaning as she attempted to ease her stomach's protests towards the food that she had eaten.  
  
The giggle she got from the kitchen caused Willow's head to rise quickly, and ears to perk up. She'd never heard such a sound. It had that sound similar to a bell or chime ringing, but still had a strange quality to it that made it almost _attractive_ to Willow.  
  
Gawking towards the entrance to the kitchen, Willow somehow managed to regain control of her motor skills and forced her head away. However, she found herself making eye contact with Buffy, who had a strangely satisfied, not to mention smug, grin on her face. Looking down, Willow didn't process the look on Buffy's face.  
  
Asking to be excused to the bathroom, Willow stepped out of the kitchen, and headed upstairs as she recalled Mrs. Summers' ranting about the single-bathroom house.  
  
Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Willow put her chin in her hands, and groaned.  
  
"Have I gone insane? I hear a laugh and I go all googlie–eyed. I've probably managed to freak Buffy out at the same time, and Xander is all with the curiosity. What have I gotten myself into?" She ranted. "Though she is pretty cute, and smart, and she understands me better than Xander even...wait a minute, what am I saying?"  
  
A knock on the door and Buffy's voice startled Willow suddenly. "Willow, you ok? We've been waiting for you for a while now."  
  
Getting up, Willow quickly flushed the toilet, and then went to wash her hands thoroughly. She always seemed to think better when she was sitting alone by herself, but she didn't want anyone else to know this. Not even Xander.  
  
Meeting Buffy in the hallway, Willow stared at her nervously, not sure what she would find. All she saw, though, was a curious glance, and then a look she'd never seen before.  
  
"Hey. You free tomorrow? After the fiasco at the Bronze, I was wanting to check out some more hangouts. I could use someone who knows the place," Buffy asked.  
  
"Sh-sure. The Espresso Pump is a pretty good place for a daytime thing," Willow responded. She promptly stopped herself before she could start to babble. It had become hard for her to do so the past few days with anyone.  
  
"Cool, sounds like a date," Buffy said, heading down the stairs, leaving Willow somewhat shell-shocked.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"You know, I find it slightly gratifying to find another 16-year-old that likes coffee. There aren't enough of us," Buffy said, sitting down at a seat in the middle of the Espresso Pump.  
  
"Oh, no. N-not coffee," Willow said, beginning to babble. "Just mocha's. Well, a mocha is coffee, but plain coffee, nuh-uh. I can't stand..."  
  
"I think I get it," Buffy cut off, grinning. She had business to attend to here, and whether Tara liked it or not, she was going to complete it. Besides, she'd seen enough to know that what she had planned would not completely embarrass neither Tara nor herself.  
  
"So, you and Tara have hit it off, huh? It's great to see her with a new friend," Buffy said after they'd ordered their 'non-coffee mocha's', as Willow put it.  
  
"Uh. W-well, s-she's a smart girl. Um, woman. Umm, well, person. And, um, well, I guess it's sort of natural to lo---uh, LIKE, a girl like that," Willow said, tripping and falling over her words. Buffy, however, played it cool, ignoring Willow's giveaways.  
  
"Ya know, you're about all she talks about. She's so happy that someone else loves school as much as her. Not many of those in LA," Buffy hinted. She knew that it wasn't school that Tara talked about Willow, but it was about as far as she could go with it.  
  
"Really?" Willow replied, a little too loudly. A couple people in a table a few rows down hushed them quickly. "W-well, I g-guess that's kinda natural. Err, to talk about new friends, I mean," Willow attempted to cover. Once again, as Buffy expected, she failed miserably.  
  
Suddenly, there was a high shriek from the street, and, to even Buffy's surprise, she saw an odd-looking figure walking rather casually down the street.  
  
"This is a strange town. Since when do demons roam the streets during the day?" Buffy asked herself.  
  
"W-well, I've never seen one during the day before. And anyway, aren't they, like, allergic to sunlight or something?" Willow replied, trying to act casual. It wasn't working, though, as she felt herself begin to panic.  
  
"Guess this guy's got guts. No worries, though, I don't think he'll be a problem," Buffy replied, slightly easing Willow's anxiety.  
  
Getting up, Buffy walked over to the strange creature, grabbed him by the arms, and threw him into a near-by alley.  
  
"I guess she's done this before," Willow quipped to herself, getting up to get a better angle to watch the scene, not to mention bring Buffy's supplies to where it was needed.  
  
Turning into the alley, Willow found Buffy crouched in the corner, looking as though she'd just taken a hard punch. Turned away from the demon, Buffy didn't know it was advancing rather quickly towards her. Willow, however, did.  
  
"Buffy, watch out!" She shouted, which caused Buffy to quickly rise from her crouching position, turn around, and deliver a couple quick blows to the midsection of the creature, which sent it flying into the garbage bin in the far corner, effectively snapping its neck.  
  
"Wow. That was cool!" Willow quipped, walking up to assist Buffy, who seemed a little shell shocked.  
  
"Yeah, it was. Umm...How did I do that?" Buffy asked.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"She doesn't know who she is?" Giles asked again to a very agitated Willow.  
  
It was now early evening, and Willow had tried everything she could think of, including reverse psychology...  
  
_*Flashback*  
  
"Ok, Buffy," Willow tried, after asking a bunch of questions. It was obvious that either Buffy had somehow lost her memories, or this was some strange test to see just how inept Willow was to these situations. "You don't know you're the slayer. That's cool. We'll just head home, and then we can stop this charade."  
  
"Slayer? Charade? Willow, that doesn't make sense," Buffy replied. "And just what is that thing, anyway?"  
  
Buffy walked up to it, finding the look on the creatures face just a little intimidating. Willow, on the other hand, was shocked. Buffy remembered her name, but somehow didn't remember that she was the slayer.  
  
"Damn, we need to find Giles," Willow muttered.  
  
"Giles? Mr. Giles? The school librarian?" Buffy replied. "Why do we need to find him? Does he have books on strange-looking creatures?"  
  
Buffy laughed at her joke, but it continued to confuse willow.  
  
Shrugging, she grabbed Buffy by the arm, and led the two out, forgetting to pay for their mochas.  
  
*End Flashback*_  
  
"Well, that's the interesting thing. She knows who she is, but she doesn't know anything about being a slayer, or about the creature we ran into," Willow replied.  
  
"And what did this creature look like?" Giles replied, heading towards his bookcase.  
  
"Big, ugly, and a very badly painted on mask. He was icky. And how did I hit him so hard?" Buffy replied from her seat in the living room. "And how can I hear you guys?"  
  
"I-I dunno, Buffy. We'll figure this out," Willow replied, not sure exactly how to handle the situation.  
  
"Is that the best description you can give me?" Giles asked, growing irritated as well. It seemed to be an epidemic that was quickly spreading through the room.  
  
"Umm. Well, it had some strange bumps on its head, um, near the forehead, and it was able to walk in light, and it didn't have any sharp teeth. Oh, and its arms were cone-shaped," Willow replied, grinning in victory from her memories.  
  
After thinking for a second, Giles picked up a book and turned quickly to a page. "Like this?"  
  
"Yes! Yes!" Willow replied, excitedly. Realizing her outburst, she quickly settled herself, before replying again. "Yeah, that's it."  
  
Reading quickly, Giles groaned. "It has the ability to alter the mind of any person. Anything that happened in the past could be taken, but they cannot take memories of an object or person's name. I'd figure they were able to erase all her memories from the past as the slayer, and the truth that she is the slayer."  
  
"Is there some way to fix it?" Willow asked, unsure if she wanted the answer.  
  
"Umm," Giles said, continuing to scan through the book. "Oh, yes. Oh. Dear Lord."  
  
After waiting for Giles to continue for a couple moments, Willow was getting a little impatient. "What?"  
  
"A family member has to drink a special mixture with the demon's blood in it," Giles started. Willow gave an 'eww' expression before he continued. "Then, the family member must remain in direct physical contact with the affected person for an hour."  
  
"W-well, I guess Tara will have to do it," Willow replied, before getting an upset look. "Does Tara really have to do it?"  
  
"Yes, and she'd better do it quickly," Giles said, as he quickly read the page over again. "Because the old memories that were removed will be replaced slowly by memories from the demon."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"I have to do what?" Tara shrieked. She didn't like this, though she knew she didn't have much of a choice.  
  
"Drink a demon's blood. I know, I don't like the thought of it either, but Buffy's going to become evil if we don't, or at least is going to go crazy with thoughts from that demon's past," Willow replied as they walked towards the Espresso Pump.  
  
"I hope they didn't take away the demon," Tara replied.  
  
"I doubt it. It was pretty well hidden," Willow replied as she rounded the corner into the alleyway. Not surprisingly, the creature was still there. However, it was decomposing at an extremely fast rate.  
  
"We have to hurry. At this rate, there'll be nothing left of him within a couple hours," Willow said, hurrying over to pick up the now almost feather-light creature.  
  
"And we have to drag this thing all the way back to Giles in this box? This is insane!" Tara said, before back-peddling. "Or, well, it's, um, a little flawed."  
  
"Yeah, I know, but let's just get this over with, ok? This guy gives me the creaps," Willow replied, nodding.  
  
As both grabbed a part of the demon, they unceremoniously shoved it into the medium-sized box they'd brought along with them. After each grabbing an end of the box, the two began to walk back towards where Giles was.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Standing in the middle of the kitchen in Giles' apartment, Tara was holding a flask of the demon's blood, which now included a couple other substances.  
  
"No pictures, right?" Tara said, staring at the liquid with a scrunched up face.  
  
Both Giles and Willow extended both arms, as to show they were empty. Satisfied, Tara tentatively pulled the flash towards her mouth, before lowering it quickly again.  
  
"Are you sure it's the only solution?" She asked, perhaps for the hundredth time in the past hour.  
  
"Yes. I assure you, again, that we looked for any alternate solution before we informed you," Giles replied impatiently. "Now, just get this over with!"  
  
Slouching her shoulders, Tara brought her hand up again, and finally began quickly chugging the drink down.  
  
Just as Tara was about to ask for the glass of water that was waiting on the table, they heard a knock at the door.  
  
"I'll get it," Giles said, though since it was his house that was obvious.  
  
Willow moved over to grab the glass of water, and then turned to get a glimpse of whoever was at the door.  
  
"Hello, may I help you," Giles said when he got to the door. Standing there was Angel, looking slightly out of breath, though in the cold night air, his breath wasn't visible.  
  
"Buffy's in trouble. I need to warn her," Angel said, though he had made no movement to enter the house yet.  
  
"Oh, sure, now someone tells us. We know already...Hey, how do you know Buffy?" Tara said, confused.  
  
"Um. Long story. Look, there's a group of demon's that are planning an ambush on her. Any idea where she is?"  
  
"She's here with us. Why don't you come in and see for yourself?" Giles said.  
  
"Thanks," Angel said, heading in. The second he was in, however, they heard the glass from the living room window break, followed by a frightened scream. As the 4 ran into the room, they caught sight of Buffy angrily throwing one to the side, while the other two were attempting to grab her arms.  
  
"STOP!" Angel shouted, joining in the fight.  
  
Very quickly, one of the demons were dead due to another broken neck, while Buffy attempted to subdue one of the others. The third, sitting confused in the middle of the room, quickly made a break for the window, attempting to get away. Tara, however, quickly cast a spell on the windowsill. The demon slipped on the now slippery wood, and fell backwards, unconscious, to the ground, just behind Buffy.  
  
Going into the kitchen, Willow managed to find a good butcher knife, before heading back, and attempting to hand it to Buffy, who continued to struggle with the remaining demon. Finally, she grabbed a hold of the knife, and jabbed it into the chest of the demon, effectively killing it.  
  
"Wow. Well done!" Willow congratulated. She was extremely freaked, however, and quickly fainted in the middle of the room.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Thankfully, the next day was a Sunday, so Willow, Buffy and Tara decided to head to the Espresso Pump to try and complete their earlier engagement.  
  
"So, everything's back in that brain of yours?" Willow asked Buffy, looking at her with concern.  
  
"Yeah. Still can't believe that even when I didn't know, I still fought those demons. Giles said it's a side-effect to attack the demons when you're infected, but I don't know if I should believe that," Buffy said, furrowing her brow.  
  
"I'll believe it. He's got some great books there on everything. I mean, I barely gave him a description of the demon, and he found him right away. I say that warrants some trust in anything he says," Willow replied.  
  
"Well, I'm just glad that I don't have to drink that stuff again. Yuck!" Tara said, making a bad face.  
  
"Is that a horn on your head?" Buffy said, as she looked at Tara curiously, and somewhat concerned.  
  
"WHAT!?" Tara screeched, bringing her hand up to her head. Finding nothing there, she glared at Buffy. "That wasn't funny!"  
  
However, both Buffy and Willow didn't hear her, as they were caught up in their giggles. They also forgot about another thing. Gravity.  
  
Both Buffy and Willow fell backwards on their chair at the same moment, causing them both to hit the ground. Now, it was Tara's turn to laugh.  
  
"That's not funny," Willow tried to argue. "Wait a minute. You did that, didn't you?"  
  
Tara just continued laughing, as the pair continued to rub their sore behinds.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The End

  
  


* * *

  
  
_A/N: Well, there's episode 2. Perhaps too much W/T at the beginning, but that's something I want to have happen pretty quickly, so expect more in the next episode too. Speaking about next episode, I'm planning on doing 'Teacher's Pet" in a similar fashion to episode 1.  
  
But, before I do that, I'm going to begin work on Flashback, which will be its official name. Expect chapter 1 out within 2 weeks.  
  
Until then, though, happy reading!_


	3. Hacking 101

  
_A/N: And now, for something old! Or something like that.  
  
This chapter will be based on the season 1 episode; "Teacher's Pet", though there will be a lot of big differences (it will be much more different than chapter 1 was as compared to its real counterpart). Also, that note that this story will not be based only on W/T will still ring true later on, but this one has ended up putting them in centre stage once more. Honestly, I couldn't help it, but hopefully no one minds.  
  
I'd also like to note that I've come up with a full outline on the first season of this story. As I'm sure that most of you would probably rather not have me put it here, I will not, nor will I put it in my profile (it's long enough already!), so if you want it, you can E-Mail me (leafsfan99@rogers.com), and I'll pass it along.  
  
So, now with that all out in the open, lets go on to the story!  
_   
  
Spoilers: Season 1 Episode 4 "Teacher's Pet". It goes off from the canon a bit, but a lot of the story is obviously taken directly for it, but I bet you already figured all that out.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got a lot of the information for my stories from www.buffyworld.com/. Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :)  
  
Summary: When a substitute teacher gets under Xander's skin, Willow tracks the pair. But is it her jealousy towards the teacher that has her tracking them, or is there something else?  
  
Legend: Just as the last 2 chapters, it's completely 3rd person, so nothing of note.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


**Buffy: The Vampire Slayer – My Way!**

  
  


**Season 1: Once Again, From The Top**

  
  


**By: David Armstrong (With Help From Joss Whedon)**

  
  


**Episode 3: Hacking: 101**

  
  
  


* * *

  
  
It was night. The bronze was packed, as per usual, but there was something different.  
  
Inside, in the middle of the building, there were a couple people eyeing each other. Well, at least they both looked like people to the naked eye.  
  
Across the room, Willow Rosenberg noticed the pair, and noticed something that not many others in the room could. One of the figures was a vampire.  
  
Getting up, Willow grabbed a stake out of her pocket, and walked toward the pair. As she got closer, she noticed the other person, who was human, and felt a lump in her throat.  
  
It was Tara, looking a little worse for wear, and extremely frightened. Running the last few strides, Willow blocked a punch that was thrown by the vampire, causing him to turn his head.  
  
At that moment, Willow backed off, but instead of having a fearful look on her face, she just smiled, and looked down at the vampire's chest. He followed her gaze, noticing a stake lodged where his heart was, then poofed.  
  
Looking at Tara, Willow grinned.  
  
"T-thanks," Tara managed to sputter out.  
  
"No problem," Willow returned, walking up to Tara and extending her hand to help her up.  
  
"You're so-" Tara paused, seemingly contemplating if she should continue. "Beautiful."  
  
Looking at Tara, Willow just grinned some more. As they continued to gaze at each other, their faced ended up moving forward a little more each second until...  
  
"Willow! Wake up!" Xander whispered.  
  
Opening her eyes, Willow looked at him, somewhat confused. "What?"  
  
"You were daydreaming. Plus, that drool on your mouth isn't very...flattering," Xander said, choosing his words carefully.  
  
Willow's eyes went wide. "I-I was daydreaming?"  
  
The whole class, at that moment, turned to stare at her. Willow, in turn, glanced around the room, nervously grinning.  
  
"Thanks for sharing that, Willow," the teacher, Dr. Gregory, said.  
  
"I-I'm sorry," Willow apologized, sheepishly.  
  
Mr. Gregory nodded, and continued on with his lesson. Willow knew that if she wasn't normally such a top-notch student, she'd have been given a detention for a week. However, that did little for her psyche.  
  
The dream had her confused, not to mention had her somewhat freaked. Who dreams of a girl who has only known you for a week? Especially when you're a girl!  
  
Suddenly, the lights came on, and Willow had to blink a couple times to focus.  
  
"Now, if you read the homework you should know the two ways that ants communicate," Dr. Gregory said.  
  
Suddenly, Willow started to hyperventilate. Xander glanced over, worriedly.  
  
"Are you ok, Will?" He asked.  
  
"I-I don't remember the homework," she whispered to him.  
  
"You didn't read it?" Xander whispered back, somewhat shocked.  
  
"N-no, I read it, I just...Don't _remember_ it," Willow said, closing her eyes, and almost willing the teacher to pick someone else.  
  
"Miss Summers," Dr. Gregory said, causing Willow to sigh with relief, before she started to worry once more.  
  
"Buffy never reads her homework," Willow whispered again, adding in a small groan for good measure.  
  
"Ways that ants communicate," Buffy started, stalling for time. Upon the teacher's nod, she looked at Willow, rather discreetly, hoping for some help. "With other ants?"  
  
"From the homework," Dr. Gregory prompted, sighing.  
  
Upon Willow's headshake, Buffy inwardly cringed. "Umm...Sound?"  
  
As the room chimed with muffled laughter, Willow turned and placed her head on the table.  
  
"Why won't you work?" She asked herself quietly.  
  
"The correct response was 'touch' and 'smell', Miss Summers," Dr. Gregory replied after the laughter had stopped.  
  
Suddenly, the bell rang, and everyone gathered up their books.  
  
"Alright, chapters six through eight by tomorrow, people," Dr. Gregory said, before adding, towards Buffy; "Can I see you for a moment?"  
  
Getting up, Xander looked apologetically over at Buffy, before gathering up his books. Looking over his right shoulder, he was surprised to find no one there. Looking to his left, he noticed Willow, still with her head down on the desk, book open.  
  
"Willow?" Xander said. "Class is over. Let's go!"  
  
Looking up, Willow looked around the room, before her gaze reached Xander's. Jumping up, she grabbed her books and quickly started towards the door.  
  
As the pair walked out the door, Dr. Gregory turned his attention to Buffy.  
  
"I gather you had a few problems at your last school?" He asked, keeping his attention squarely on the slide in his hand.  
  
"Well, what teenager doesn't?" Buffy answered with her own question.  
  
"Cut school, get in fights, burn down the gymnasium," Dr. Gregory filled in, much to Buffy's dismay. "Principal Flutie showed me your permanent record."  
  
"Well, that fire, I mean, there was major extenuating circumstances," Buffy tried, futilely, to defend herself. "Actually, it's, uh, kinda funny!"  
  
"Can't wait to see what you're gonna do _here_," Dr. Gregory added in.  
  
"'Destructo Girl'. That's me," Buffy mumbled to herself.  
  
"But I suspect it's gonna be great," Dr. Gregory continued, to Buffy's surprise.  
  
"You mean, 'great' in a bad way?" She asked, trying to figure it out.  
  
"You have a first-rate mind and you can think on your feet," Dr. Gregory reasoned. "Imagine what you could accomplish if you actually did the..."  
  
"...The homework thing," Buffy finished for him, following his train of thought.  
  
"The homework thing," Dr. Gregory agreed half-heartedly. "I understand you probably have a good excuse for not doing it. Amazingly enough, I don't care. I know you can excel in this class, and so I expect no less. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy replied with as much spunk as she could. "Sorry."  
  
"Don't be sorry, be smart," Dr Gregory replied, scaring Buffy a little with the philosophical insight. "And please don't listen to the principal or anyone else's negative opinion about you. Let's make 'em eat that permanent record. Whadaya say?"  
  
"Okay! Thanks," Buffy responded as sincerely as she could.  
  
"Chapters six through eight," Dr. Gregory reminded her as she walked out the door.  
  
Turning back to his slide, Dr. Gregory continued his work. Suddenly, the door in behind him opened. As silently as possible, the thing walked up to Dr. Gregory, and without so much as a scream, grabbed him around the neck with a pair of large insect claws.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
That night at the Bronze was rather uneventful for Xander. He'd spent the first couple of minutes dancing around, looking like a boozed-up teenager to the rest of the crowd. He followed that by lamely attempting to make small body-language talk with the live singer for the night who, unsurprisingly, wanted nothing to do with him.  
  
So now, walking towards the club's bar, where at best he could get a root beer, he was predictably bored and feeling low.  
  
"Seven, including Cheryl," Xander heard to his right. Immediately he recognized the school football star Blayne. "I'll tell you, though; her sister was lookin' to make it eight!"  
  
"Ooo, Cheryl's sister? The one in college?" The person sitting next to Blayne asked. Xander didn't know him, but with the death rate among them, he was likely on the football team, too.  
  
"Home for the holidays and lookin' for love," Blayne replied, nodding and grinning. "She's not my type, though. Girls really gotta have something to go with me."  
  
Xander couldn't stop the words that flowed out of his mouth. "Something like a lobotomy?"  
  
The two guys have him a look of annoyance. Finally, Blayne spoke up; "Xander. How many times you score?"  
  
"Uh..." was all Xander could muster. The question had really caught him by surprise.  
  
"It's just a question," Blayne mocked.  
  
"Are we talking today or the whole week?" Xander finally said. The response only produced a snicker out of the pair.  
  
Suddenly, he noticed three girls coming down the stairs just a few steps away. It was show time!  
  
"Oh! Duty calls!" Xander said, walking away.  
  
Walking up to the 3, Xander put her arms around the two closest.  
  
"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, mostly confused, though a little startled, too.  
  
"Work with me here," Xander replied, a little too casually. "Blayne had the nerve to question my manliness. I'm just gonna give him a visual."  
  
"Oh. Uh, that's..." Tara started, somewhat nervous with Xander's arm around her shoulder. She couldn't find a good word to finish the sentence, so she let it hang. "Who's Blayne?"  
  
Meanwhile, Willow noticed Tara's nervousness, and got a sudden urge to slap Xander's arm off of her. As it lifted, her mind replaced it with a seething jealousy, wishing that it was Xander's arms around her. It just didn't have much zest to it, though.  
  
"I don't believe it," Buffy suddenly said in a trance-like state, startling Willow a little.  
  
"I know, and after all my conquests," Xander replied, oblivious to the tone in Buffy's voice.  
  
Xander's shoulders slumped as he watched Buffy wander away.  
  
"Who's that?" Tara asked, looking towards the person Buffy was walking towards.  
  
"Oh, that's just..." Xander started. He was quickly cut off, though.  
  
"That must be Angel. I think," Willow interrupted.  
  
"Um, yeah," Xander replied, a little startled.  
  
"The guy that warned her about the vampires?" Tara asked. She hadn't heard much about him, but he seemed to be a good guy.  
  
"Well, he's buff," Xander said, taking a long look at Angel.  
  
"You think he's buff?" Willow questioned, somewhat confused. This guy didn't look that great.  
  
"He's a very attractive man," Xander replied. "How come that never came up?"  
  
Willow just stared at him. This was too weird.  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy had just made it up to Angel.  
  
"Well, look who's here," she said, somewhat sarcastic.  
  
"Hi," Angel replied, simply, yet still somewhat cryptically.  
  
"I'd say it's nice to see you," Buffy continued. "But then we both know that's a big fib."  
  
"I won't be long," Angel replied.  
  
"No," Buffy replied coolly. "You'll just give me a cryptic warning about some exciting new catastrophe, and then disappear into the night, right?"  
  
"You're cold," Angel replied, concerned.  
  
"You can take it," Buffy replied, oblivious to his tone of voice.  
  
"I mean," Angel replied, taking his jacket off, giving it to her. "You look cold."  
  
As Angel draped it around her shoulder, Buffy couldn't help but feel a little awkward.  
  
"It's a little big on me," she said, a little nervous. Her eyes quickly found themselves on Angel's arm, and she noticed a scar. "What happened?"  
  
"I didn't pay attention," Angel replied quite simply, as though it explained everything.  
  
"To somebody with a big fork?" Buffy asked, somewhat confused.  
  
"He's coming," Angel said, ignoring Buffy's comment.  
  
"The fork guy?" Buffy tried again.  
  
"Don't let him corner you," Angel continued. "Don't give him a moment's mercy. He'll rip your throat out."  
  
"Okay, I'll give you improved marks for that one," Buffy replied sarcastically. "Ripping a throat out, it's a strong visual, it's not cryptic."  
  
"I have to go," Angel replied, walking away.  
  
"Sweet dreams to you, too," Buffy whispered into the air.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"That's all he said? _Fork guy_?" Giles asked.  
  
"That's all cryptic guy said. Fork guy," Buffy replied, walking alongside her mentor.  
  
It was early morning, and Buffy was a little agitated that she was forced to spend it checking in with Giles with some useless information.  
  
"I think there are too many 'guys' in your life," Giles said, chuckling a little, which drowned out the lack of response from Buffy.  
  
Their walking somehow found Giles and Buffy in front of Willow, who was startled as they came up. Lucky for her, her new-found company was too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice.  
  
"I'll see what I can find out," Giles continued, as business-like as he could. He proceeded to look up. "God, every day here is the same!"  
  
"Bright, sunny, beautiful. How ever will we escape this torment?" Buffy replied, sarcastically.  
  
As Giles turned to leave, Xander walked up to the group.  
  
"Good morning," Giles tossed out before continuing on his way.  
  
"Mornin'," Xander returned towards his retreating figure. "Guess what I just heard in the office? No Dr. Gregory today. Ergo, those of us who blew off our science homework aren't as dumb as we look."  
  
"What happened, is he sick?" Buffy answered quickly, curious.  
  
"They didn't say anything about being sick," Xander replied. "Something about missing."  
  
"He's missing?" Buffy asked, a little unnerved.  
  
"Well, let me think," Xander replied, going through what he overheard in his mind again. "Um, the cheerleaders were modeling their new short skirts that kinda got..." Upon their look, he stopped himself. "Yeah! Yeah, they said missing."  
  
After a prolonged silence from Buffy and Willow, Xander spoke up again. "Which is bad?"  
  
"If something's wrong, yeah!" Buffy replied.  
  
"He's one of the only teachers that doesn't think Buffy's a felon," Willow added.  
  
"I'm really sorry, I'm sure he'll..." Xander started, before trailing off. "I, uh, huh..."  
  
Confused, Buffy and Willow followed his gaze. Upon seeing the woman, Buffy looked back at Xander, not surprised. On the other hand, Willow found herself somewhat transfixed on the figure, too. She quickly shook it off before Buffy glanced towards her, giving her a sly grin.  
  
"Could you help me?" The woman, apparently a teacher, asked Xander.  
  
Xander looked around, not quite believing she was asking him. "Uh, yes!"  
  
"I'm looking for science, 109," the teacher said.  
  
"Oh, it's, um..." Xander started. His mind was passing blanks, though. "I go there every day."  
  
Looking towards Willow and Buffy, Xander found himself desperate. "Oh, God, where is it?"  
  
"Hi! Blayne Mall," came a voice from behind the teacher. "I'm going there right now. It's not far from the varsity field where I took All-City last year."  
  
"Oh, thank you, Blayne!" The teacher replied, walking off with him.  
  
"It's funny how the Earth never opens up and swallows you when you want it to," Xander said after the pair had left.  
  
"Be careful what you wish for," came a new voice, this time behind Xander. "On a Hellmouth, it could come true."  
  
"Tara! Hi," Willow greeted, a little bit too upbeat for her own good.  
  
"Hey. I-I was just in the library," Tara replied. "Giles said he was going to do a bit of research. There's only so much I can take."  
  
Upon seeing the gloomy look on Buffy, Tara sat down next to her. "What's up?"  
  
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing," Buffy replied, trying to keep a little bit of a hopeful tone.  
  
"Dr. Gregory is missing," Xander finally filled in.  
  
"Oh, the one that didn't think you were a felon...?" Tara asked, before it clicked in. "Umm, I-I'm sure he's ok."  
  
"We're on a Hellmouth," Buffy replied sadly. "Chances are a vampire got him on his way home last night. And that is probably best case scenario."  
  
Suddenly, Willow got up. "Uhh, I just, umm, remembered I've got...that _thing_ to do, so, um, I'm going to go do that."  
  
As she walked off, the others stared after her, shocked.  
  
"Ok, what just happened?" Xander asked.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
As third period began, Buffy and Willow entered the science room at the same time. Surprisingly, Xander was already there. That was a rarity in itself.  
  
As Buffy turned to go to her seat, her eyes spotted something on the ground. Stopping to pick it up, she studied Dr. Gregory's glasses.  
  
"What is it?" Willow asked from behind, unsure of what Buffy was up to.  
  
"Dr. Gregory dropped his glasses," Buffy replied, curiously. "Why wouldn't he pick them up?"  
  
Willow shrugged her shoulders, and Buffy proceeded to place the glasses on the desk.  
  
Buffy, as always, spaced out during most of the lesson, only catching a few words. However, to her left, both Xander and Willow were attentively watching Miss French.  
  
Although Willow was probably paying a little more attention than normal, barely ever looking down at her notes, she could get away with it. After all, why did Miss Brainy herself have to write anything down?  
  
On the other hand, Xander was practically drooling as he watched, and made eye contact (of many different sorts) with Miss French throughout the lesson. Though the lesson wasn't sinking in, he at least _seemed_ interested in it for once.  
  
"The California Mantis lays her eggs," Miss French said, continuing her lesson. She looked pointedly at Xander before continuing. "And then finds a mate to fertilize them. Once he's played his part, she covers the eggs in a protective sack and attaches it to a leaf or twig out of danger. Now, if she's done her job correctly, in a few months she'll have several hundred offspring."  
  
Miss French paused for a minute, walking back towards her desk. "You know, we should make some model egg sacks for the science fair. Who would like to help me do that after school?"  
  
All the male's hands shot up very quickly, which came as no surprise to Buffy. What did, at least slightly, was that Willow seemed to be contemplating putting hers up too.  
  
After a few moments of contemplation, Willow decided against it. She was all for learning, but this woman was giving her the creeps, for a few different reasons. For one, she was a little too attractive for a teacher, and plus, Willow was somehow actually finding her to be attractive.  
  
Looking around, she made eye contact with Buffy, who seemed to be fighting off a grin. Nervously, Willow returned the grin, turning her attention back to the lesson.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
It was lunch time, and Willow, Buffy and Xander were spending yet another one together in the cafeteria. However, for a change of flavor, the topic of conversation was not Buffy's slaying career, but rather a substitute teacher.  
  
"I wonder what she sees in me," Xander mused, looking at his reflection in a serviette holder. "It's probably the quiet good looks coupled with a certain smoky magnetism."  
  
Willow looked at him uncertainly, unsure of how to respond to it. Turning to Buffy, she caught a little twinkle in her eyes, and smiled.  
  
"Miss French," Xander continued. "You two are probably a little young to understand what an older woman would see in a younger man."  
  
"Oh, I understand," Buffy said, a little bit of sarcasm in her voice.  
  
"Good," Xander replied, completely missing the undertone.  
  
"The younger man is too dumb to wonder why an older woman can't find someone her own age," Buffy continued. "And too desperate to care about the surgical improvements!"  
  
"Surgical improvements?" Xander asked, confused.  
  
"Well, he is young," Willow said, looking at Buffy.  
  
"And so terribly innocent," Buffy agreed.  
  
"Hey, those who can, do. Those that can't _laugh_ at those who..." Xander stopped his insightful moment, before finishing lamely; "can do."  
  
A quick moment, and Blayne had gone through the whole cafeteria, his tray filled.  
  
"Well, that was just weird," Willow said to herself, watching Blayne eat rather sloppily at his table.  
  
Suddenly, there was a scream from inside the kitchen, and Buffy, Xander and Willow all bolted to see what was up.  
  
There was no strange demon, which relieved Buffy for an instant, until she looked inside the fridge that Cordelia, who was still screaming, looked into.  
  
"His head! His head! Oh, my God, where's his head?" Cordelia screeched.  
  
With her eyes wandering a little more than she liked, Buffy noticed a nametag. 'Dr. Gregory.'  
  
  


* * *

  
  
That night, Buffy headed out, reluctantly taking Tara along with her.  
  
She, along with Willow and Xander, had a long discussion which ended up involving possible enemies of Dr. Gregory, where he was killed, where his head was and the 'fork guy'.  
  
Plus, there was the warning from Giles to not go out tonight. She knew she couldn't stay in, and despite the best efforts of Tara, was now walking down towards Weatherly Park, the last probable location of 'fork guy'.  
  
"I still don't think w-we should be out," Tara said. She'd been out a number of times with Buffy, but normally it was just routine patrol. "I-I mean, we don't know what this guy is like."  
  
"'Fork Guy'," Buffy replied. "Pretty obvious what he's like, which is more the reason why we should be trying to track him down tonight."  
  
Suddenly, a homeless man walked by the pair, eyeing them suspiciously.  
  
"Shouldn't be out here at night, ladies. Dangerous," He muttered, wandering down the pathway.  
  
Watching the man walk off, Buffy noticed a manhole cover in his path, and made her way over. Cautiously, Tara followed, keeping a bit of distance between Buffy and herself.  
  
Lifting the cover, Buffy quickly found herself engaged with the 'fork guy'. Despite landing a few blows and dodging a few herself, Buffy found that she didn't have much of an advantage on the vampire.  
  
Behind her, Tara began a spell, hoping to assist Buffy. Before she could finish, though, her concentration was broken as a group of policemen appeared on a hill, shouting loudly.  
  
With the distraction, 'fork guy' managed to find an opening, and ran off. Sighing, Tara followed Buffy as they attempted to track him. Reaching a fence, the two watched in horror as they saw the vampire stand behind a woman, who Buffy immediately recognized as Miss French.  
  
Before Buffy could shout a warning, Miss French turned her head slowly, getting a good look at 'fork guy'. Instead of running for her life, screaming her head off, Miss French grinned at him, almost daring him to attack her.  
  
In return, 'fork guy' frowned, before turning around and jumping back into the manhole, quickly pulling the cover on.  
  
All Buffy and Tara could do was stare in shock.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"T-that was Miss French?" Tara asked, walking home.  
  
"Yeah," Buffy nodded, still a little unnerved. First Dr. Gregory and now Miss French. Could the school teaching staff get any weirder?  
  
"I'd risk a bet and say she's not what she seems," Tara said confidently.  
  
"I'd hope not," Buffy responded. "If she is just an ordinary substitute teacher, then perhaps I should go to college after all."  
  
"I'd guess some sort of shape shifter," Tara replied. "And you'd need to go to University first, then Teacher's College."  
  
"Oh, then forget it," Buffy said after a moment's thought.  
  
"I thought so." Tara replied, following Buffy through the window of their house.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"You went out hunting last night?" Giles asked, walking into his office.  
  
"Yes," Buffy said, impatiently.  
  
"When you assured me you wouldn't?" Giles continued in a scolding tone.  
  
"Yes, I lied," Buffy replied hastily. "I'm a bad person, lets move on."  
  
"Did you see someone with a fork," Giles asked.  
  
"More like a jumbo claw," Buffy answered, pointedly.  
  
"Oh. Well, uh, at least you're not hurt," Giles offered.  
  
"And we saw something else," Buffy continued. "Something much more interesting than your average run-of-the-mill killer vampire."  
  
"'We'?" Giles asked.  
  
"Oh. Um, Tara and me," Buffy replied. "S-she wouldn't let me go without her. She's very stubborn. I've learned to just let her come for the ride. Anyway, do you know Miss French, the teacher that's subbing for Dr. Gregory?"  
  
"Yes, yes. She lovely. In a, a common, extremely well proportioned kind of way," Giles answered, a little distracted.  
  
"Well, we're chasing claw guy, and Miss Well Proportioned is heading home," Buffy continued. "The claw guy takes one look at her and runs screaming for cover."  
  
"He what?" Giles asked, shocked. "Ran away?"  
  
"He was petrified," Buffy replied.  
  
"Of Miss French?" Giles asked once again, unsure if he was hearing right.  
  
"Uh-huh! So I'm an undead monster that can shave with my hand," Buffy responded. "How many things am I afraid of?"  
  
"Not many," Giles answered. "And not substitute teachers as a rule."  
  
"What I figured," Buffy nodded. "So what's her deal? Tara said something about a shape shifter?"  
  
"Perhaps," Giles said, deep in thought. "It might be a good idea to keep an eye on her."  
  
"Then I'd better get off to class," Buffy replied, heading off.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
After another run in with Principal Flutie, and a long session with a councilor that Buffy was positive she didn't need, she was finally heading towards science. She just hoped that she didn't miss much, in a few different senses.  
  
Coming up to the door, Buffy peeked in. "Great, a pop quiz."  
  
Without warning, Miss French straightened up, and, without turning her body, turned her head around to meet Buffy's eyes.  
  
Extremely surprised, Buffy took a couple of seconds before she finally moved away from the window.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
"No, I'm not saying she craned her neck. We're talking full-on Exorcist twist," Buffy said to Willow, walking into the library after school.  
  
"Ouch!" Willow replied.  
  
"Which reminds me," Buffy continued. "How come Blayne, who worked with her one-on-one yesterday, isn't here today?"  
  
"Inquiring minds want to know," Willow said, walking to the computer.  
  
"Any luck?" Buffy asked Giles as he came out of his office.  
  
"Um, I've not found any creature as yet that strikes fear in a vampire's heart," he responded, a little downcast.  
  
"Try looking under 'things that can turn their heads all the way around'," Buffy said, helpfully.  
  
"Nothing human can do that," Giles replied.  
  
"No, nothing human," Buffy said, thoughtfully. "There are some insects that can. Whatever she is, I'm gonna be ready for her."  
  
Upon that, she headed towards the stairs.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Giles asked, a little confused.  
  
"My homework," Buffy replied, seriously, walking into the shelves.  
  
"She does homework now?" Tara asked, walking in. "Giles, what have you done to her?"  
  
Suddenly, Buffy ran back towards the railing. "Where are the books on bugs?"  
  
  


* * *

  
  
They'd all been searching through resources for a half an hour when Buffy appeared once again.  
  
"Dig this: 'The praying mantis can rotate its head 180 degrees while waiting for its next meal to walk by,'" Buffy read. "Ha!"  
  
Upon a long silence, Buffy felt a little indignant. "Well, c'mon, guys. Ha!"  
  
"Well, Miss French is a little big," Willow replied. "Ya know, for a bug."  
  
"And she is, by and large, woman shaped," Giles agreed.  
  
Tara, who was sitting at the end of the table, started to piece together the few points they had. At that moment, an unknowingly Buffy helped.  
  
"Okay," Buffy started, trying to get her head around everything. "Factoid 1: Only the praying mantis can rotate its head like that. Factoid 2: A pretty whacked-out vampire is scared to death of her. Factoid 3: Her fashion sense screams predator."  
  
"It's the shoulder pads," Willow nodded, before furrowing her brow. _Shoulder pads_?  
  
"Exactly," Buffy confirmed, startling Willow.  
  
"She is a shape shifter," Tara said, speaking up.  
  
"That, or...or a perception distorter," Giles replied, a little shocked at Tara's knowledge. "On a helpful note," he continued, "I had a chum at Oxford, Carlyle, advanced degrees in entomology mythology."  
  
"Entoma-who?" Buffy asked, stupidly.  
  
"Bugs and fairy tales," Tara replied, impatiently.  
  
"I knew that," Buffy quickly said.  
  
"If I recall correctly, poor old Carlyle, just before he went mad, claimed there was some beast..." Giles started.  
  
"Buffy, 911! Blayne's mom called the school," Willow interrupted. "He never came home last night."  
  
"The boy who worked with Miss French yesterday?" Giles asked, trying to recall.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied, contemplating the new information. "If Miss French was responsible for...Xander's got a crush on a giant insect!"  
  
"Okay, don't panic," Buffy tried to reassure Willow. "I'll warn him, but I need you to hack into the coroner's office for me."  
  
"Hack?" Tara asked, a little confused.  
  
Not hearing, or choosing to ignore the comment, Willow turned back to Buffy. "Autopsy on Dr. Gregory," She answered. "I've been trying to figures out these marks that I saw on his corpse... I'm thinking they were teeth. And, uh, these cuddlies should definitely be brushing after every meal."  
  
Looking back to Giles, Buffy continued. "And you were saying something about a beast?"  
  
"Oh, uh, yeah," he replied. "I just need to make one transatlantic telephone call."  
  
Turning to walk into his office, he stopped suddenly, and looked over his shoulder. "Um, this computer invasion Willow is performing on the coroner's office," he started. "One assumes it's entirely legal?"  
  
"Of course," Willow replied.  
  
"Entirely," Buffy said at the same time.  
  
"Right," Giles replied, self-consciously. "Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."  
  
"Good idea," Buffy replied.  
  
As Giles left to make his phone call, and Buffy went to find Xander, Willow and Tara found themselves alone with slaying business for the first time.  
  
After a few moments, Tara couldn't stand it anymore, and got up.  
  
"Hacking?" She asked, suddenly turning around. She wasn't sure why she did, but now that she had, Tara was in too deep.  
  
"Y-yeah," Willow replied, only half-catching Tara's words. She'd done this a lot, and she always found herself lost in it. "Using a computer to enter a heavily secure site to get information. I've done it a lot..."  
  
Willow stopped, as her brain finally came up for air and realized the conversation she was having.  
  
"You don't mind, do you?" Instantly, Willow slapped herself mentally at her question.  
  
"I-I," Tara started, trying to figure out if she did. Pretty quickly, she realized she didn't. "No, I don't."  
  
"Oh, 'cause I don't really do much when I hack," Willow said, starting to babble. "I mean, I usually hack into library web sites. Oh, but I only do it to see what kind of books have been checked out, and by whom. I don't do government sites, nuh uh..."  
  
"C-could you show me?" Tara asked tentatively, before shaking her head. "Un-unless it's too difficult. I-I mean, I've never used a computer other than to type up a couple of essays."  
  
"No," Willow said, before shaking her head. "I mean yes. I-I mean, sure, I could show you. I-it takes patience, though. I remember once, it took me an hour to get into one site. I was about to give in when I finally got into it..."  
  
"Cool," Tara replied, cutting Willow off again. "I-I'm, um, game."  
  
Smiling, Willow moved over, and Tara grabbed a chair.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
About 10 minutes later, Buffy returned, her head hung slightly.  
  
"Well?" Willow finally asked, not liking the tension that had suddenly developed upon her return.  
  
"I..." Buffy trailed off. "I don't think he believed me. He's...he's heading home, though, so I guess Miss French didn't have a chance to do anything to him."  
  
"Well, that's good," Tara replied with a little more effort than she wanted. She could sense something was wrong, and she knew that Buffy could, too.  
  
"No," Willow suddenly said. Shaking her head, she spoke up again. "S-something's not right. Tara, do you think you can do this?" Willow asked, motioning towards the computer.  
  
"I-I don't know," Tara replied, tentatively. "Why?"  
  
"I want to keep an eye on Xander," Willow replied. "He could get himself in trouble. I-I've known him longer than you guys, so I think I could keep pace with him better. I mean, I always found him when we played hide and seek."  
  
Raising an eyebrow at her, Buffy shook her head. "I don't know."  
  
Looking back at Willow, Tara could see the determination and resolve. Besides, who could resist a pretty face like hers?  
  
"I-I think I can do it, if I have enough time," Tara said. With a smile, she added: "And if not, perhaps Buffy and I could go break into the morgue."  
  
Getting up, Willow grabbed her backpack. "Good luck," she said to Tara. Strangely, she felt like bending down and giving her a kiss, but she shook it off quickly.  
  
"Thanks," Tara replied. Watching Willow leave, she nervously got to work on the hacking. She'd noticed a strange buzz that Willow seemed to get while doing it, so Tara tried to find that zone.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Willow felt pretty silly.  
  
She'd spent the past hour, at least (she'd forgotten her watch, somehow), looking through a window, trying to keep an eye on Xander. He seemed to be rather busy, though the reason why was, for the moment lost on Willow.  
  
The only time she stopped from her little spy game was when Xander stepped into the shower.  
  
It was now pretty dark out, and though Willow had brought a cross and a few other supplies, she still didn't feel totally safe.  
  
Now, she was standing beside a window near the front door, trying her best to remain out of sight while still able to see in.  
  
Suddenly, Xander, dressed in a rather flashy button-up shirt and pair of pants, walked towards where Willow was looking through. Turning his head, Xander seemed to call up the stairs before hastily throwing on a pair of shoes, and, as Willow heard rather than saw, headed outside.  
  
"I knew it," Willow said under her breath. "Miss French-bug-woman probably set up a date tonight."  
  
Peaking out around the corner, Willow saw Xander nervously stumble towards the sidewalk. Being careful, Willow began to follow.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
About thirty minutes later, Willow continued to follow Xander, who she'd figured out was a little too distracted to notice her. She still kept a distance, but didn't worry too much about hiding.  
  
"Haven't we been down this street already?" Willow asked herself, noticing a couple familiar houses. She doubted her earlier thought about a date now, thinking that Xander was just getting some fresh air. Knowing his parents, she wouldn't be heavily surprised.  
  
However, just as she was thinking about giving up the stalking assignment, Xander crossed the street, took a deep breath, and walked up to a house.  
  
This time, Willow found a large tree to hide behind, peering out towards the house very carefully.  
  
She saw Xander reach out and pull his hand back a number of times before he finally very quickly reached out a hand and pressed the house's doorbell.  
  
Upon catching a glance of the occupant, Willow quickly turned and started to pant nervously.  
  
"She's just a bug. A really big bug, but still a bug," Willow told herself. However, as it turned out, that wasn't what had her so nervous.  
  
Looking cautiously around the tree again, she noticed the door was closed, and that beyond a couple lit candles, there was barely any light inside the house.  
  
Carefully walking up to a window, she tentatively peered in. Immediately, she caught sight of Miss French, who was in a pretty stunning, and revealing, black dress.  
  
"Predator, indeed," Willow said, a little dazed at the sight. She recognized the instant feel of jealousy. However, what she didn't know was who it was directed at, Miss French or Xander?  
  
Suddenly, Willow realized that Xander was with Miss French, who, pretty obviously, wasn't who she seemed. Turning quickly, Willow ran off in the general direction of the school.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, at the school, Tara was beginning to think plan B might be the better one.  
  
"Where is the morgue in this town, anyway?" She asked, somewhat seriously.  
  
"I dunno," Buffy replied, keeping her eye on the screen.  
  
Once again, Tara typed in a few letters. Hitting 'enter', she was shocked when the computer beeped, and a new screen came up.  
  
"Wow, you did it!" Buffy said, beaming. "Now, we need to find Dr. Gregory's report."  
  
Clicking a few times, Tara found 'Dr. Paul Gregory' and clicked it. Immediately, a set of pictures and a few written reports popped up.  
  
"Eww," Buffy spat out, pretty much speaking what Tara was thinking. "And colour. Man, these guys are quite morbid."  
  
Looking at the book that Buffy had gotten, Tara reluctantly looked back at the screen.  
  
"The teeth match up," she said, cringing. "That confirms it."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "Now, how do we..."  
  
She was cut off by a rather out of breath Willow. "Xander's at Miss French's house. And I think she's planning something. She looks...Well, she doesn't look like a teacher."  
  
Getting up, Buffy walked into Giles' office. Giles was just hanging up his phone as she entered.  
  
"Xander's with Miss French," Buffy told him. "We need something, fast!"  
  
"Dr. Ferris Carlyle spent years transcribing a lost pre-Germanic language." Giles began. "What he discovered he kept to himself until several teenage boys were murdered in the Cotswold's. Then he went hunting for it."  
  
"'It' being?" Buffy asked impatiently.  
  
"Uh, he calls her a She-Mantis," Giles replied. "This type of creature, the Kleptes-Virgo, or, or virgin-thief, appears in, in many cultures. The Greek sirens, the Celtic sea maidens, who, who tore the living flesh from the bones of, um..."  
  
"Giles!" Buffy interrupted. "While we're young!"  
  
"Uh, well," Giles said, somewhat embarrassed. "Basically the, uh, the She-Mantis assumes the form of a beautiful woman and then lures innocent virgins back to her nest."  
  
"Virgins?" Buffy repeated. "Well, Xander's not a, uh... I mean, he's probably..."  
  
"Gonna die!" Willow interrupted, growing a little hysterical.  
  
"Okay, okay," Buffy said, attempting to calm everyone down. "So this thing is breeding and we need to get to it and snuff it. Any tips on the snuffing part?"  
  
"Uh, Carlyle recommends cleaving all body parts with a sharp blade," Giles replied.  
  
"Slice and Dice," Buffy said.  
  
"Well, whatever you do," Giles warned, "it had better be certain and swift. This beast is extremely dangerous."  
  
"Well, your buddy Carlyle faced it," Buffy reasoned, "and he's still around."  
  
"Yes," Giles agreed. "In a straitjacket, howling his innards out day and night."  
  
"Okay, Admiral, way to inspire the troops!" Buffy scolded.  
  
"Sorry..." Giles replied.  
  
"Tara. Do you think you could do a quick spell?" Buffy asked, looking over at her sister.  
  
"What kind?" She asked, curiously. Buffy always had the strangest ideas, especially when slaying.  
  
"Bat sonar," Buffy replied. "It makes its entire nervous system go kaplooey. Plus, they eat mantises."  
  
"Sure," Tara replied, getting up. "Just make sure you have a backup plan. We don't know what kind of abilities this 'she-mantis' has."  
  
Grabbing a large blade, Buffy stared at it pointedly. "I've got a backup plan."  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking down the street, Willow pointed at a house. "That one. They're in that house."  
  
"Ok," Buffy replied. "I'll just go up to it..."  
  
"Buffy! Watch out!" Tara's warning cut her off.  
  
Spinning around, she found a fist flying into her face. Stumbling backwards, Buffy tried to regain her bearings. Finally looking up, she found herself staring at 'claw guy'.  
  
"Damn. Almost forgot about you," Buffy muttered as she continued to stare him down. "Willow, something from that bag of goodies would be nice now!"  
  
Nervously, Willow began fishing in the sac that they brought along with weapons (not to mention bug spray), and grabbed the first solid object she could find. Whipping it out, she blindly tossed it in the general direction of Buffy.  
  
With quick reflexes, Buffy grabbed what turned out to be a blade, and, with one fluid motion, swung it at 'claw guy's head.  
  
Surprising Buffy, the 'claw guy' ducked, missing the first blow, then quickly blocking a second swing towards his midsection. Buffy quickly regrouped before swinging the blade once more.  
  
This time, she connected, but she didn't get any flesh. The sparks that flew off 'claw guy's claw were mesmerizing. With everyone distracted, Buffy finally saw her chance, and quickly swung at 'claw guy's head. This time, it sliced through perfectly, and the vampire burst into ashes, covering the sidewalk.  
  
"Well, that was a nice warm-up," Buffy said, as she continued to walk.  
  
Reaching the door, Buffy didn't hesitate at knocking it down. Instantly, she heard some muffled pleas from the basement, and hurried towards the door.  
  
After a few moments, Buffy turned around. "I can't get it open. We'll have to find another way!"  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Xander couldn't believe it. He was going to die during sex. And even worse, it was with a huge monster bug!  
  
"Kiss me!" The bug chanted, laughing. "Kiss me!"  
  
"Can I just say one thing?" Xander replied, extremely freaked. "HELP! HELP!"  
  
Suddenly, a window just above the pair smashed open, and to Xander's momentary relief, Buffy slid through.  
  
"Uh, hey, o-over here," Blayne started yelling. "Hello! In the cage!"  
  
Pulling in her bag of supplies, Buffy stood up and turned towards Miss French, who was now in her rather disturbing bug form.  
  
"Let him go!" She said, forcefully.  
  
Grabbing up the cans of bug spray, Buffy headed towards Miss French, getting set to spray.  
  
In behind her, Willow and Giles followed, each going to release the two guys.  
  
"Get them out of here!" Buffy shouted over her shoulder. Turning back around, she raised the two cans of bug spray, and pointed them at Miss French.  
  
For a moment, Miss French was a little woozy, but she quickly shook it off, causing Buffy to panic.  
  
"Tara! Anytime now!" Buffy shouted out the window.  
  
Suddenly, a small light shone through the window, followed by a loud screeching sound. Grinning, Buffy turned back to Miss French, who was attempting to cover her ears with a pair of her legs.  
  
"Bat sonar," Buffy told her. "Makes your whole nervous system go to Hell. You can go there with it!"  
  
Grabbing her blade, Buffy quickly began swinging at the bug, chopping off a bunch of different body parts. Once she was satisfied that it was dead, she turned back to the others, still holding the blade.  
  
"Well, I... I'd say it's deceased," Giles put in, rather obviously.  
  
"And dissected," Willow added, somewhat grossed out.  
  
"You ok?" Xander asked Buffy.  
  
"Yeah," Buffy replied, looking back over at the corpse that was Miss French.  
  
"Just for the record," Xander started. "You were right, I'm and idiot, and God bless you!"  
  
Looking around the room, Xander nodded towards them, "And thank you guys, too!"  
  
"Yeah, really," Blayne quickly agreed.  
  
"Pleasure," Giles replied, rather awkwardly.  
  
"I'm really glad you're okay," Willow spoke up, looking pointedly at Xander. "It's so unfair how she only went after virgins."  
  
"What?" Xander asked, chuckling nervously.  
  
"I mean, here you guys are," Willow continued. "Doing the right thing, the smart thing, when a lot of other boys your age..."  
  
"Flag down on that play, babe," Blayne interrupted defiantly. "I am not..."  
  
"Well, you see," Giles cut in. "That's the She-Mantis' modus operandi. Uh, she only preys on the pure."  
  
"Well, isn't this a perfect ending to a wonderful day!" Xander said, annoyed.  
  
"My dad's a lawyer," Blayne replied, a little scared. "Anyone repeats this to anybody, they're gonna find themselves facing a lawsuit."  
  
"Blayne!" Xander exclaimed. "Shut up!"  
  
"I don't think it's bad, I think it's really sweet!" Willow said, looking around the room. As Xander grabbed the blade, she backtracked. "It's certainly nothing I'll ever bring up again."  
  
Walking over to the eggs, Xander looked at it grossly, before hacking away at them.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
Sitting in the Bronze, Buffy sat, enjoying the peacefulness.  
  
Suddenly, she sensed something behind her, and turned to find Angel smiling at her.  
  
"I heard a rumor there was, uh, one less vampire walking around making a nuisance of himself," He said.  
  
"There is," Buffy nodded to him. "Guess I should thank you for the tip."  
  
"Pleasure's mine," Angel responded.  
  
"Course, it would make things easier if I knew how to get in touch with you," Buffy continued, staring suggestively at him.  
  
"I'll be around," Angel replied, cryptically.  
  
"Or who you were?" Buffy asked, a little confused by Angel's actions.  
  
"Well," Buffy continued. "Anyway, you can have your jacket back."  
  
"It looks better on you," Angel replied, turning back into the crowd. All Buffy could do was stare after his retreating figure.  
  
"Oh boy!" Buffy muttered.  
  
  


* * *

  
  
The next morning, during first period, Willow walked quietly into the library. She quickly caught sight of Tara, and grinned.  
  
Tara, meanwhile, was very caught up in the book she was reading. Emily Dickinson was one of her favourite authors, and it got her away from the realities of this world.  
  
Suddenly, someone pushed a sheet of paper in front of her face. Reading it over, Tara looked up at Willow, a little surprised.  
  
"I-It's a 'first hack' award," Willow explained, a little nervously. "Buffy told me you got into the coroner's office. I thought it deserved some sort of recognition, and this just seemed to fit."  
  
Looking back at the certificate, Tara smiled. "I love it!"  
  
"O-of course, you can't hang it up anywhere," Willow replied, chuckling a little. "But, but if you'd like me to frame it, I could."  
  
"I..." Tara started, looking up and giving a grin to Willow. "It's fine like this. I'll put it in my binder."  
  
Sitting down beside Tara, Willow looked at the book she was reading, and smiled. "Emily Dickinson? Cool!"  
  
"Yeah," Tara replied, turning back to it. Instead of trying to continue a conversation, Willow decided to join her, and read the page, smiling blissfully.  
  
  


* * *

  
  


The End

  
  


* * *

  
  
_A/N: Wow. Took me almost 2 weeks to finish that. I like it, though.  
  
Next on my list for this series will be another remake, this time of Episode 5 "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date." However, before I do that, I'll do chapter 3 of 'Flashback' for the same reason as why I did chapter 2 of this, to keep me off the altering bandwagon.  
  
Oh, and also, merry belated Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my faithful (and not so faithful) readers!  
  
Thanks, and happy reading!  
_


	4. We All Have Issues

  
_  
A/N: Hey. Back to the old classics.  
  
This chapter will go a completely different direction of the previous 3. For one thing, it will not be centred around Willow and Tara, but actually around Buffy, and to an extent, Giles. For another, Jesse will actually make an appearance. Hopefully all the fans are happy about my portrayal of him.  
  
Also, there will be a lot of hints towards strange parings that'll never come to pass. Just thought I'd clear that up before the 'I'm a closet *so and so*' shipper, I'm so glad to find out I'm not the only one' comments come flowing in.  
  
Lastly, for this chapter, I've decided that I'll finally start with the main season arc, which involves the Master. I hope I do a half-decent job with him.  
  
Now, it's story time!  
_   
  
Spoilers: Obviously, for Season 1, Episode 5 'Never Kill A Boy On The First Date'. Perhaps a couple other spoilers, but nothing that would either give away something big, or that would get you completely lost for the rest of the story.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't think Joss et al. is dumb enough to waste his time on some lowly creature having fun with his world that he so obviously messed up, so I'm not going to say anything to save me from that. However, because I respect the owners of the site, I'd just like to mention that I got a lot of the information for my stories from Thank you guys for your wonderful transcripts, even if the fight descriptions suck! :)  
  
Another additional disclaimer: Willowbabe has once more helped me out with a story. She's becoming my muse. In any case, a couple pieces in this story are her ideas (most notably, the first W/T scene), and I'd also like to thank her on her opinion and approval of Jesse's role in this story. It was my idea, but if it weren't for her, I might never had decided to go with it. Thanks!  
  
Summary: Buffy learns the harsh realities of being a slayer in the dating scene while the plot thickens with the Master when an old prophecy is uncovered. Meanwhile, after weeks of confusion, Willow finally discusses her issues to an unlikely source with surprising results.  
  
Legend: Completely 3rd person once more, so you know the drill.  


* * *

  
  


**Buffy: The Vampire Slayer – My Way!**

  
  


**Season 1: Once Again, From The Top**

  
  


**By: David Armstrong (With Help From Joss Whedon)**

  
  


**Episode 4: We All Have Issues**

  


* * *

  
  
It was another normal night at the graveyard. Beautiful moon in the sky, strange shadows being cast by trees, a girl fighting with a guy who seemed to have a bumpy face...  
  
Well, okay, not quite normal.  
  
After parrying a couple punches, the girl got bumpy-guy square in the jaw, sending him to the ground.  
  
"We haven't been properly introduced," the girl piped up, somewhat sarcastically. Pausing her speech, she reached into jacket, and pulled out a stake. "I'm Buffy, and you're...History!"  
  
With that, Buffy plunged the stake into the vampire's chest, causing him to fall into a pile of ashes. Admiring her work, Buffy was shocked out of her victory worship by an unwelcome voice.  
  
"Poor technique," Giles said, shaking his head. "Prioritizing, sub-par. Execution was adequate, but a little too bloody for my tastes."  
  
"And, plus, you let him get up. He could have run away, and be biting some poor dog's neck right now," Tara added, popping in behind Giles, startling him a bit. "I say, Buffy, you're getting soft in your old age."  
  
"Don't mention it, guys," Buffy replied, glaring at her sister. "It was my pleasure to make the world safe for humanity again."  
  
Stifling a chuckle, Tara looked a Giles, expecting him to look rather flustered. He didn't disappoint.  
  
"I'm not saying that your methods are without merit," he tried to cover. "It's, uh, y-you're spending too much time and energy. It should simply be: plunge, and move on. Plunge and..."  
  
Trailing off, Giles bent over to pick up something. "Hello."  
  
"Oh, that's great," Buffy said, her voice still dripping with sarcasm. "I kill them, you fence their stuff. What is it?"  
  
"I don't know," Giles replied, holding it up for Tara, who squinted at it in a confused fashion.  
  
"But it bothers you?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes!" Giles replied, a little indignantly. "Well, I-I thought this vampire was on a random kill, but it may be something else."  
  
Upon this, Buffy and Tara both stiffened up. This was potentially serious.  
  
"Something big?" Buffy asked, a little tentatively.  
  
"Yes," Giles confirmed. "I'd best consult my books."  


* * *

  
  
The Master wandered around his confines, waiting for his 'minions' to arrive. It had been only a couple hours since nightfall, and they were scheduled to be there that evening.  
  
The Master was an avid believer of 'patience is a virtue', but even he was starting to get impatient. Plus, the longer they were out there, the bigger the chance that the Slayer would get them.  
  
Suddenly, he felt a strange pang of loss in his gut, and he cried out in agony. One of the minions had just been killed, by the Slayer, no doubt.  
  
The Master didn't really care for the minions, but at this time of his un-life, it was getting really hard to recruit more, and they were his only contact with the surface. It would be another difficult loss for him. He'd be able to use it to his advantage, though, when the others got back.  
  
A few minutes later, and he heard footsteps signaling the entrance of his minions. The three that were left entered, and stood obediently together in front of the Master. Looking them over, he was pleased to see they were all in good shape. No scars, which meant they'd been able to stay clear of the Slayer.  
  
Turning around, he walked over to another vampire. She had in her hands a big, musty book, which she shakily handed over to the Master. Walking towards the desk, he heard one of the three minions cough, and turned around.  
  
"Did you say something, or did you just get a piece of someone caught in your throat?" He asked, daring him to say something.  
  
"W-well, I was, um, just wondering, shouldn't we wait for Pat? I mean, he's one of us, too, ya know, and I'm sure he shouldn't, um, be left out," the minion replied nervously.  
  
"He's not coming," the Master replied. With that, he turned back around, and slammed the book angrily onto the table.  
  
Opening it, he began to read.  
  
"'And there will be a time of crisis, of worlds hanging in the balance. And in this time shall come the Anointed, the Master's great warrior. And the Slayer will not know him, will not stop him, and he will lead her into Hell,'" he translated easily. Turning towards his minions, he continued, "As it is written, so shall it be."  
  
Picking up the book, he walked towards the three that were intently listening.  
  
"'Five will die, and from their ashes the Anointed shall rise. The Brethren of Aurelius shall greet him and usher him to his immortal destiny,'" he continued. "As it is written, so shall it be."  
  
Looking back down at the book, he began to read again:  
  
"'And one of the brethren shall go out hunting the night before and get himself killed, because he couldn't wait to finish his job before he ate.' Oh, wait," the Master paused, grabbing the closest vampire by the neck. "That's not written anywhere. The Anointed will be my greatest weapon against the Slayer! If you fail to bring him to me, if you allow that girl to stop you..."  
  
Throwing the vampire towards a closed coffin, he turned back towards the other two.  
  
"Here endeth the lesson," he finished before pointedly closing the book.  


* * *

  
  
The next morning, Buffy and Tara showed up to school early. Giles had wanted to look over the ring they had found the night before, and Tara, never one to pass an opportunity to go to school early, was tagging along.  
  
"I still don't understand," Buffy whined to Tara. "You can go to bed anytime, sleep in late and still be on time for everything. Why don't you?"  
  
"Oh, no reason," Tara replied, secretly. "I just like to be around when stuff happens, ya know?"  
  
"'Ya know?" Buffy repeated, staring at Tara oddly. "You don't say 'ya know'. There's something else, isn't there. Tell me!"  
  
Looking down for a moment, Tara contemplated what Buffy had said. Perhaps there was something else.  
  
Looking back up, Tara stopped. Meanwhile, Buffy continued to walk while talking non-stop.  
  
"Buffy!" Tara called. She didn't get Buffy's attention, though, and cringed.  
  
"I mean, it's pretty obvious that there's..." Buffy's sentence didn't finish as she went nose first into the double-doors of the library. Turning around, she caught the eye of Tara, who was only barely containing the laughter that wanted to escape. "Oww!"  
  
The laughter exploded from Tara's mouth. It took her a few moments to recompose herself, though she still let out the odd laugh as she and Buffy walked into the library.  
  
"Ah, Buffy," Giles said, walking out of his office. He caught the look on Tara's face, and turned curious. "What's going on?"  
  
"Buffy..." Tara stopped herself when she caught Buffy's glare. "Was just telling me a real funny joke. It's, um, American. You wouldn't get it."  
  
Nodding, Giles turned around, before looking up again. Did she just insult him?  
  
"Americans," he muttered. Turning back to the pair, he spoke, a bit louder. "Did you remember the ring, Buffy?"  
  
"I did," Buffy replied, triumphantly pulling the ring out.  
  
"I trust you didn't do anything with it?" Giles asked, looking at her closely.  
  
"No!" Buffy replied indignantly. Looking down, she spoke again, a little slower. "Well, I, uh, kind of slept with it on."  
  
Upon the looks from the other two, Buffy became defensive. "Hey, it's very pretty, and besides, harder to steal something without me knowing when you have to take it off my hand!"  
  
"She has a point, strange as it is," Tara conceded.  
  
"Thank you," Buffy answered happily.  
  
"Did you find out anything last night?" Tara asked, turning back to Giles.  
  
"No, um, nothing in my books that I've found yet," Giles replied, as he looked at the ring closely.  
  
"Well," Buffy spoke up, getting their attention. "I've got class in a couple minutes, so I'll be heading there. I'll, um, see you at lunch?"  
  
"Lunch," Giles repeated, nodding.  
  
"I'm glad I have class at that time now," Tara muttered. She continued a little louder. "Bye, Buffy. Try not to sleep too long."  
  
Looking back to Tara, Buffy stuck out her tongue. She forgot to stop walking though, and as she turned back, she went nose first into the doors once more.  
  
"Stupid doors," Buffy muttered as she walked out.  
  
Before the doors closed again, a hand appeared, swinging it open again.  
  
"Hey," Xander said, walking in casually. "What did I miss last night?"  
  
"Yeah," Willow said, walking in behind him. "And what's up with Buffy. She didn't even say hello."  
  
Tara couldn't help but grin as Willow pouted. It was just too cute.  
  
"Well, she's been walking into doors non-stop," she answered, unable to keep a chuckle down.  
  
"Oh," Willow replied, not quite getting it. "Oh! Ouch!"  
  
"Are you guys here for something, or are we just going to make small talk?" Giles asked, a little annoyed.  
  
"Well, I could use a new biology book," Xander confessed.  
  
"He forgot it at Mrs. French's place. He's too wigged to go back," Willow explained. Upon the look from Xander, she tried to cover. "Which is-is totally understandable. I-I'd be wigged, too, if..."  
  
"Willow, please stop," Giles broke in sharply. He didn't like where this was leading. Turning around, he headed into his office again. A few moments later, he reappeared, producing a new book.  
  
"Due to the circumstances surrounding it," Giles started, "I'll forget about the other book, but please do be careful with it this time."  
  
"Of course," Xander replied.  
  
Turning around, he walked out, careful not to run into the door.  
  
As both Tara and Giles turned back, they were surprised to find Willow had disappeared.  
  
"What the...?" Giles asked, looking around. Turning back, he found that Tara had disappeared as well.  
  
"Women," Giles muttered, walking into his office again.  
  
"We heard that!" Came a response from the centre desk, which caused Giles to jump a little. Sighing, he closed the door, and sat down, picking up a book.  


* * *

  
  
Looking back at her own book, Willow read the page pretty quickly. Sure, she'd looked at it the night before, but she liked to be thorough.  
  
As she reached the end, she began to daydream. She'd been doing a lot of that lately, though the star was different in this case.  
  
This time, it was Xander, as Willow recalled a prank he'd pulled on her a few days ago.  
  
*Flashback*  
_  
"Hey, Willow," He'd said. "Remember when we'd play doctor, and you'd diagnose me? What do you think about this blister on my finger?"  
  
"That's a blister?" Willow responded, looking at it while trying not to laugh. "It looks more like paint!"  
  
Bringing the finger to his face to inspect it, Xander nodded, before proceeding to wipe it on Willow's face, leaving the 'blister' behind.  
  
"Yeah, grade 'A' paint," Xander tried to clarify. "Washes easily, but is very fun."  
  
With that, he pulled out a small palette of paint. Without any more warnings, he quickly began to give Willow's face a paint job.  
_  
*End Flashback*  
  
Willow had known she felt something beyond simple friendship for Xander for quite a while now. She still wasn't sure if it was just another part of getting older or if it was genuine.  
  
Of course, she also noticed the lack of attention Xander gave her. Sure, he looked at her, and talked to her, but he never really did see her.  
  
Then again, who would see a shy computer nerd whose fashion sense was somewhere on Pluto? Especially when there was a Slayer and Witch to mull over?  
  
"Maybe if I wasn't so normal, Xander might notice me," Willow muttered sadly.  
  
"What?" Came a confused response that caused Willow to jump. She'd forgotten completely about Tara, who was sitting quietly, watching her work.  
  
"I, uh...Nothing!" Willow tried to cover, a little too loudly.  
  
"What's wrong with being normal?" Tara asked, a little confused.  
  
"How about everything?" Willow replied. "No one notices me. Xander pays more attention to Buffy than me."  
  
"You've got your own perks," Tara countered. "You-you're very good with hacking, you're smarter than anyone I know, and you're very caring and nice..."  
  
"B-but if that were true, then Xander would notice me more," Willow complained, cutting Tara off.  
  
"How do you know Xander doesn't notice you?" Tara asked. Willow may have been right, but she thought it might be a good question to throw in.  
  
"W-well, he-his eyes, and...and, the way he talks to me," Willow replied.  
  
"The way he talks to you?" Tara repeated, somehow keeping the urge to laugh back. "When he talks to you, I don't think I've known anyone who sounds more caring than him."  
  
"He does?" Willow asked, unsure if she should believe it.  
  
"Yeah," Tara replied, nodding. "Besides, someone like you? I don't think anyone could not notice you."  
  
"Oh," Willow said, not understanding it. Confused, she looked at Tara. "What?"  
  
"W-well," Tara tried to cover. "I just mean, you're not like, um, most people."  
  
"Oh," Willow said again. "You mean I'm strange?"  
  
"A good strange," Tara quickly replied, before giving a small smile.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied, returning the smile uncertainly.  
  
Willow also had the strange problem with Tara. She'd been spending long hours during the day drifting off, just thinking about her. Her eyes, the way her hair was just right, the way she spoke.  
  
It was much deeper than what she had with Xander, but she still felt like she barely knew Tara. It was getting very confusing, and Willow's head was beginning to hurt.  
  
Turning back to the book she had, she started to read once more. She needed to give her brain something that made sense.  


* * *

  
  
The lunch bell had just rung as Buffy entered the library, careful not to bang her nose against the door again.  
  
"Hey, Giles?" She called, looking around.  
  
"In my office," he replied.  
  
Taking a seat on the centre desk, she began to leaf through the books that were lying around there.  
  
"Uh, this, uh, seems to be rather useless," Giles said, walking up to the stacks to collect a new book. Opening it, he began to look through it, stopping every so often to look closely at a page.  
  
Finally finding something, he made his way down to Buffy.  
  
"That symbol on the ring," he said, pointing to the symbol. "I believe it's the rune for fidelity, but, uh, it doesn't connect with any of the sects that I've studied."  
  
Taking the ring, Buffy scanned it closely, before noticing something she'd seen while she was leafing though the book just a few moments prior.  
  
"What about this?" She asked, pointing as well. "On the inside. It's a sun and 3 stars. Haven't we seen that somewhere?"  
  
"Let me see," Giles said, taking the ring back, and looking at it curiously. "No, I-I don't think this, um, represents any..."  
  
Grabbing up the book she read earlier, Buffy quickly found the page she'd seen it in, and cut Giles off.  
  
"Wait, it's right here," she said, pointing. "Sun and three stars. Yuck, check these guys out. Told you it looked familiar."  
  
"Oh," Giles said, looking at the book. "The Order of Aurelius. Yes, you're right."  
  
"Ooo, two points for the Slayer while the Watcher has yet to score," Buffy gloated, earning a strange look from Giles.  
  
Suddenly, another boy entered the room.  
  
"Oh," Buffy remarked, standing up. "Owen, hi!"  
  
"What do you want?" Giles asked, slightly annoyed.  
  
"A book," Owen answered.  
  
"Oh!" Giles replied, surprised.  
  
"You see," Buffy said, mockingly, "this is a school, and we have students, and they check out books, and then they learn things."  
  
"I was beginning to think that was a myth," Giles replied, a little stunned.  
  
"I lost my Emily," Owen explained. When he realized it wasn't enough, he continued. "Dickinson. It's dumb, but I like having her around. Kind of a security blanked."  
  
"I have something like that," Buffy said, awkwardly. "Well, it's an actual blanket. Uh, and I don't really carry it around anym-more... So! Emily Dickens, huh? She's great!"  
  
"Dickinson," Owen clarified.  
  
"She's good also," Buffy said, covering.  
  
"Poetry," Giles said to Owen.  
  
"I didn't think I'd find you here," Owen said to Buffy, who followed him up towards the poetry section.  
  
"W-Why not?" Buffy asked, confused.  
  
"I-I didn't mean," Owen said, unsure of how to express his thoughts. "I mean... I think you can read."  
  
"Thanks," Buffy said, a little overly happy.  
  
"But you don't seem bookworm-y," Owen continued, grabbing up a book. "The type of person to lock themselves in a dark room with a lotta musty old books."  
  
Stopping himself, Owen caught the gaze Buffy was giving him. "Oh, and I've offended you."  
  
"No!" Buffy exclaimed. "No, I'm just surprised you gave any thought to what I'm like."  
  
"You shouldn't be," Owen replied.  
  
"Oh, well," Buffy said, following him back down towards the front desk. "I _love books_. I mean, I really _love_ books."  
  
Noticing the book on the centre table, Owen walked over to it.  
  
"What's this?" He asked, curiously.  
  
"Not this one," Buffy said, nervously.  
  
"This one she doesn't love," Giles covered quickly, picking it up.  
  
Taking Owen's book, Giles carried it over to the front desk, quickly checking it out.  
  
"Oh, Emily Dickinson," he commented.  
  
"We're both fans," Buffy fibbed.  
  
"Yes, uh," Giles said, not quite realizing Buffy's actions. "She's quite a good poet, I mean for a..."  
  
"A girl?" Buffy tried impatiently.  
  
"For an American," Giles corrected, handing the book back to Owen.  
  
"I'll, uh, see you in math," Owen said to Buffy. "If I open my eyes at some point."  
  
"Cool," Buffy let out, watching him leave.  
  
"The Order of Aurelius is a very old and venerated sect," Giles informed Buffy once Owen was out of earshot. "If they're here, it's for a good reason."  
  
"That was Owen," Buffy said dreamily, not catching Giles' words.  
  
"Yes, I remember," Giles replied impatiently.  
  
"Do you have any more copies of Emily Dickinson? I need one," Buffy said, turning quickly towards Giles.  
  
"Buffy," Giles scolded. "While the mere fact of you wanting to check out a book would be grounds for a national holiday, I think we should focus on the problem at hand."  
  
"Right. I'm sorry, you're right. Vampires," Buffy said, trying to get herself back on track. Looking down, she noticed her dress. "Oh. Does this outfit make me look fat?"  
  
"No, it doesn't!" Giles nearly shouted back. "Now can we get back...?"  
  
Upon Buffy's facial expression, Giles gave up.  
  
"Fine," he said. "I'll do the research, you go have lunch. But, I want you back here after."  
  
Grabbing her stuff, Buffy walked out without as much as a glance back.  
  
Walking down the hall, she saw Tara walking along.  
  
"Tara!" She called, a little desperately. Catching up to her, Buffy continued. "Do you happen to have an Emily Dickinson book?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," Tara replied, a little surprised. "Why?"  
  
"Can I borrow it?" Buffy asked. Upon Tara's suspicious look, she tried to explain. "A-a friend has it, and I kind of lied and said I knew her, and I don't, and if I don't read it, I'll look like a fool..."  
  
"Okay, you can have it," Tara cut her off, handing her the book quickly. "Just keep it in one piece, and don't lose it."  
  
"I won't!" Buffy exclaimed, walking down the hall. "Thanks! I love you! You won't regret this!"  
  
Watching Buffy walk into the cafeteria, Tara wondered about that. "Don't be so sure..."  


* * *

  
  
The rest of lunch was filled with a quick fill-in with Xander and Willow on the previous night's events, a date invitation by Owen to Buffy, and some bad news regarding the Master and the ring they'd found the night before.  
  
So now, Tara was sitting in the library alone, reading through all the books for any more information they might provide.  
  
It was proving to be fruitless, and the conversation she'd had with Willow earlier wasn't helping much.  
  
"So she likes Xander," Tara thought aloud. "Guess I should have seen that coming."  
  
Shaking her head, she went back to her reading.  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, Willow has having no more success with her searching in class.  
  
She had to be careful not to get caught, and that alone had caused her to lose her train of thought a few times.  
  
Add that to the confusing thoughts she was having, and she wasn't spending a lot of time finding information.  
  
"But Xander!" She said to herself quietly. "With his cute eyes and adorable smile."  
  
Smiling wistfully for a second, Willow quickly shook it off, still confused.  
  
"But Tara," she started again. "So nice and sweet and caring, not to mention that hair..."  
  
Once again, she found herself grinning, drifting off.  
  
"Willow?" Came a voice from beside her, shaking her out of her thoughts.  
  
"W-what?" Willow answered quietly.  
  
"What about this?" Buffy asked curiously, pointing towards her book.  
  
"Y-yeah, that's right," Willow replied distractedly.  
  
"Cool!" Buffy said, turning back towards her book.  
  
"Mmmhmm," Willow agreed, returning to her own studies.  


* * *

  
  
Later that night, Buffy and Giles were waiting by the cemetery.  
  
They'd been there for at least a half-hour by Buffy's count, and it didn't seem like anything was going to happen soon. There hadn't even been an everyday vampire around, which, for Sunnydale, was weird.  
  
Sipping on her empty drink, Buffy looked over at Giles, not very pleased with the evening's proceedings.  
  
Catching the look, Giles turned his head away.  
  
"Perhaps I miscalculated," he said, embarrassed.  
  
"I'm thinking yes," Buffy agreed, taking another sip on her straw.  
  
"Well, you know what they say," Giles continued. "Ninety percent of the vampire slaying game is, is waiting."  
  
"You couldn't have told me that Ninety percent ago?" Buffy asked, annoyed.  
  
"Well," Giles started uncertainly. "We, we've certainly waited here long enough."  
  
"Besides, there aren't any fresh graves," Buffy added. "Who's gonna rise?"  
  
"Apparently no one tonight," Giles replied.  
  
"Then I can bail?" Buffy said, excitedly. "I can go to the Bronze and find Owen?"  
  
"Oh, very well then," Giles answered, somewhat flustered. "Follow your hormones if you want. But I assume I don't have to warn you about the hazards of becoming personally involved with someone who's unaware of your unique condition."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Buffy agreed impatiently. "I read the back of the box."  
  
"If your identity as the Slayer is revealed it could put you and all those around you in grave danger," Giles warned seriously.  
  
"Well, in that case I won't wear my button that says, 'I'm a Slayer. Ask me how!'" Buffy said sarcastically. Upon Giles' look, she got up. "Good night."  
  
As Buffy walked off, Giles recounted the prophesy.  
  
"'Five shall die, and from their ashes the Anointed shall rise.' I was sure it was tonight."  


* * *

  
  
On the other side of town, a bus was driving down a side road.  
  
Inside, Jesse sat, a little unnerved, looking out the window. Ever since Buffy had come to town, he had a strange feeling that something was going to happen. Something that he didn't think he'd like.  
  
Plus, the other passengers on the bus didn't comfort him much.  
  
"I went on an airplane," A kid sitting across from Jesse said quietly.  
  
"A pale horse emerged with death as its rider," the guy behind Jesse muttered. "You will be judged. You will be judged."  
  
"This is going to be a long ride," Jesse muttered to himself unhappily.  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy walked into the Bronze, looking hopefully for Owen.  
  
Looking towards the group of dancers, she spotted him. He wasn't alone, though. Cordelia was all wrapped up in him, and the pair looked rather content.  
  
Standing shocked, Buffy contemplated approaching the pair. Her stronger sense told her to walk away, though, and so she did.  


* * *

  
  
Back on the bus, Jesse was starting to feel a little nervous. Something big was about to happen, he just knew it.  
  
"That day's gonna bring fire. Fire comin' down! Judgment," the man behind Jesse continued, standing up. Apparently, Jesse wasn't the only one sensing something. "Don't think you're ready, ready to look upon him. If there's sin in there, there's sin all around. It's a liquid. On that day there won't be anybody tellin' us what to do or why we're doin' it. You can't prepare. On that day..."  
  
"Hey, you gotta sit down. Okay?" The driver remarked, looking through the front mirror.  
  
"Are you willing to stand with the righteous?" The man retorted, eerily.  
  
Before the driver could respond, someone walked into the buses path. Panicking, the driver slammed on the breaks. However, he was too late, and the bus slammed into the person. With the driver unable to control the bus, it swerved off the road, taking out a sign before finally coming to a stop on a pole.  
  
After gaining his bearings, the driver turned back towards the others. "Is everyone okay?"  
  
As the 6 nodded hesitantly, the driver got up, heading out to assist the person he hit.  
  
Jesse had a sudden feeling that the driver had just made a mistake by doing that, but he shook it off.  
  
"He should be allowed to go help..." Jesse didn't get a chance to finish, as the window's busted.  
  
"Oh, great. Not again," Jesse commented, scared stiff.  
  
A vampire grabbed the man who was standing through the window, and immediately bit him. As he did, a couple other vampires walked through the doorway.  
  
It took only a matter of moments before there was just Jesse and the boy.  
  
"There was only supposed to be one child!" One of them exclaimed, confused.  
  
"Well, take 'em both then!" The other shouted.  
  
Before Jesse could protest, he was knocked unconscious.  


* * *

  
  
The next morning, Buffy and Tara walked into school early once more. However, this time they were not greeted in the library by Giles, but rather, Willow and Xander.  
  
"Hey, guys, what brings you two here so bright and early," Buffy asked cheerfully. However, catching their downcast faces, she frowned. "Or, at least early."  
  
"Jesse's missing," Willow said sadly. "He was supposed to be coming home late last night. Rumor has it that he'd gone to his grandparents for the past couple weeks because he was going all wakko from everything that happened in the past months."  
  
"Oh," Buffy replied, uncertainly. "Bu-but, he's been here the past week. Hasn't he?"  
  
Upon Xander's head shake, Buffy got a sinking feeling.  
  
"We didn't even notice he was gone," Tara stated regretfully. "W-we got so caught up in everything, we didn't even notice Jesse was gone."  
  
"W-well, I contacted the airport," Giles said, startling the group slightly as he walked out of his office. "And I'm regretful to tell you that they said that Jesse was on the plane last night."  
  
"B-but maybe, that's just a trick," Willow started, her mind racing a mile a minute. "Maybe he just wants us to think he's come home, and instead is sitting happily in a rocking chair with his grandparents in...well, wherever his grandparents live, not worrying if his friends are noticing him or not..."  
  
"I wouldn't count on it," Giles said, sadly. "However, he might be somewhere else, hiding. It would appear that he was followed by a group of 'odd-looking fellows' after he left the airport. He might have noticed them, and, well, hid."  
  
"Well, then," Buffy said determinedly, "let's find him."  
  
The others instantly nodded their agreement. Just as they all sat down, the bell rang.  
  
"Oh, do we have to go to class?" Buffy whined, looking at Giles.  
  
"If you want to give an appearance of a normal student," Giles told her, "you must be in class."  
  
"But every normal student skips at least a couple classes," Buffy pouted. Upon the looks from Giles, and pretty much everyone else, minus Xander, she gave in. "Okay, okay, but at lunch, I'd better find you guys have found something."  
  
Before Xander had a chance to open his mouth, Willow pointed a finger towards the door, and shook her head. Resignedly, he headed towards the door.  
  
After they had left, Giles returned to his office to make another phone call, while Willow and Tara headed towards the computer to begin their online search.  


* * *

  
  
"Anything?" Buffy asked, walking into the library as the lunch period began.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow asked, looking at Buffy, confused. "But it's only..."  
  
Looking at her watch, Willow almost jumped when she saw it read almost 12 O'clock.  
  
"H-how'd that happen?" She asked, beginning to panic. "I-I can't miss class. M-missing class is a bad thing..."  
  
"Relax," Tara told her, unconsciously putting her hand on Willow's shoulder. "You were just concerned about Jesse. And besides, I don't think missing one class will be much of a problem with your record."  
  
As Willow attempted to protest, Tara put her hand up, stopping any further self-deprecating comments from her.  
  
"No more. You and Buffy should get something to eat, and then continue with the searching," Tara said, getting up. "I-I've got class now."  
  
As Tara walked out, Buffy watched her, a little confused. "Since when does she wear the 'boss' hat in the family?"  
  
"I don't know, but I find it..." Willow stopped herself before she said something she would probably regret. "Uh, very cool."  
  
Looking at Willow, Buffy grinned. "Very cool, eh, Will?"  
  
"Yeah, uh, how about lunch?" Willow continued, evasively.  
  
"Sounds good," Buffy agreed, letting the comment fall away.  


* * *

  
  
As Buffy and Willow sat down, they stared at their food, not extremely hungry. The cafeteria food didn't help their appetites much, either.  
  
"So, anything?" Buffy asked Willow hopefully.  
  
"Nothing," Willow replied sadly. "Giles even called his grandparents. He said they sounded 'very convincing' when they told him Jesse wasn't there."  
  
"Oh," Buffy let out. "Well, you never know, they could still be hiding him. It wouldn't be too strange."  
  
"I guess not," Willow answered, not sounding convinced.  
  
"Well, I think I might have some news that could cheer you up," Buffy said, hoping to change the subject.  
  
"What?" Willow asked, curiously.  
  
"Owen and I have a date again tonight! Isn't that just, so cool?" Buffy commented, giddily. "Plus, I can keep an eye out for Jesse at the Bronze, too. Perhaps I might see him."  
  
"That's great!" Willow exclaimed, excitedly. "Do you need help picking out a dress? I could so help you there. Oh, uh..."  
  
Looking at her wardrobe, Willow smiled embarrassedly at Buffy. "Well, maybe I couldn't..."  
  
"Sure," Buffy said, cutting Willow off. "I could use the help, and besides, Tara has a tendency to give me a long lecture when we do it. I would like the change. But, you mustn't tell her."  
  
"Right," Willow agreed, not quite processing everything. "Wait, but how do you plan to not tell your own sister who's in your house that you have a date?"  
  
"That's where Xander comes in," Buffy replied, wickedly. "But I'm going to need your help convincing him to do it."  
  
"I'm in," Willow said. It would be a good chance to get back at him for his paint work from a few days earlier.  


* * *

  
  
After her lunch, Buffy headed back to the library, heading straight for Giles' office.  
  
"Hey, how's it going?" Buffy asked hurriedly after entering.  
  
"Uh, alright," Giles replied, uncertainly, putting down his cup of tea.  
  
"That's great!" Buffy replied, not quite letting him finish. "I see we're now working on that Anointed One problem, that'll probably take you a few days, right? I mean, that's one obscure prophecy..."  
  
"Well, yes, there are a few interpretations..." Giles started.  
  
"So tonight's looking slow, right?" She asked, before continuing without giving Giles the chance to answer. "Probably best to relax and regroup, no big disasters coming? That is so good, I will see you tomorrow then! Bye!"  
  
Watching Buffy leave, Giles grabbed up his cup, taking a slow sip.  
  
"She is the strangest girl," he commented.  


* * *

  
  
That evening, Buffy and Willow sat in Buffy's room, trying to pick out a dress for Buffy to wear.  
  
"Okay, so, what were you saying you were going for tonight?" Willow asked, a little uncomfortable.  
  
"I don't know," Buffy replied, thinking. "I was thinking a shy look, but that's just not me. But an unrestrained, aggressive look? Not sure how Owen would take that."  
  
"How about this?" Willow asked, holding up a dress.  
  
"Yeah, that might work," Buffy replied, looking at it curiously.  
  
Grabbing it, Buffy put it on quickly.  
  
"So, where is he taking you?" Willow asked.  
  
"Oh, I don't know," Buffy replied blissfully. "Where do you suppose young kids go on dates these days?"  
  
"Well," Willow replied, somewhat playfully. "I read somewhere once that sometimes they go to movies."  
  
"Movies," Buffy repeated. "Interesting!"  
  
"And I saw on TV once," Willow continued, "a bunch of people our age went to a party."  
  
"Wow," Buffy exclaimed. "I never knew being a teenager was so full of possibilities!"  
  
Hearing the front door open, the two looked at each other.  
  
"What is mandrake root anyway?" They heard Xander ask, a little too perky for his own good.  
  
"I-I'm not entirely sure," Tara replied a little awkwardly. "Bu-but it works, so I guess it doesn't really matter much, does it?"  
  
Looking towards the closed door in Buffy's room, both Buffy and Willow couldn't help but grin a little.  
  
"What did you tell Xander to get him to go?" Buffy asked, a little awed.  
  
"I told him there might be a fuzzy top-hat in the magic shop," Willow replied innocently. Upon Buffy's disbelieving look, she added, "don't ask."  
  
"Perhaps we should save him?" Buffy asked, a little concerned.  
  
"Maybe wait a couple more minutes," Willow answered. Xander wasn't about to get off the hook that easily.  
  
After a couple moments, the pair got up simultaneously.  
  
Walking down the stairs, they saw Tara, who Xander had somehow managed to pull into the living room, doing a small spell.  
  
"Hey, guys," Buffy announced her presence, getting the attention of Xander and Tara. "What are you up to?"  
  
"Well," Tara began, looking back at the materials on the ground. "I'm just showing Xander something. He said he wanted to see what mandrake root could do, besides smelling terribly."  
  
Getting up, Xander walked over to the pair. "So, y-you guys doing anything special tonight?" He asked, pointedly.  
  
Looking up, Tara looked at Buffy closely, noting the dress. "Yeah, where are you going, Buffy?"  
  
"Oh, umm," Buffy stalled, trying to find an excuse. "I-I was going to go to the Bronze and look around for Jesse. We decided that might be a-a good place to start."  
  
"Okay," Tara replied, a little confused. "Why w-wasn't I informed of this?"  
  
"Well, I thought I'd just go with Willow," Buffy said, ad-libbing. "I-I thought it would be a good chance to give you a night off. You know, from everything."  
  
"Well, okay," Tara relented. "But if Mom asks about anything when you get back, I'm not going to be throwing out some white lies for you."  
  
Before Buffy could reply, the doorbell rang. Looking a little unsurely at Willow, she snuck a glance at Tara, noting her confused look, and went to answer the door, opening it tentatively.  
  
"That's Giles," Buffy said, confused by his presence.  
  
"We need to talk," Giles said quickly.  
  
"Buffy's not home," Buffy tried, turning while closing the door.  
  
Forcing the door back open, Giles walked in, standing in front of Buffy.  
  
"My calculations may not have been as far off as I thought," Giles said, matter-of-factly, pulling out a newspaper.  
  
"'Five die in van accident?'" Buffy read from the headline.  
  
"'Out of the ashes of five shall rise the one,'" Giles recited, excitedly. "That's the prophecy. Five people have died!"  
  
"In a car crash?" Buffy asked, disbelieving.  
  
"I know it doesn't quite follow," Giles tried to clarify. "But, but it's worth investigating. Look! Among the dead was Andrew Borba, whom the police sought for questioning in a double murder. Now, he may be the Anointed. The, the bodies have been taken to, to Sunnydale Funeral Home, w-we can..."  
  
"Giles, why do you want to hurt me?" Buffy cut him off, annoyed.  
  
"I beg your pardon?" Giles replied, confused.  
  
"Hey!" Came a voice from the open doorway. Looking over, Buffy and Giles both saw Owen standing there. "Uh, hi."  
  
"You have a date?" Giles and Tara asked, simultaneously.  
  
"Yes, but I will return those overdue books by tomorrow," Buffy covered, ignoring Tara.  
  
"Wait, you're not getting off that easy," Giles answered, stopping Buffy.  
  
"Man, you really care about your work," Owen said, a little shocked. Picking up on this, Willow quickly moved over, pulling Owen aside.  
  
"Yeah, uh, Owen?" She started, looking desperately at Xander for some help.  
  
Stepping forward, Xander tried to keep his attention as long as possible. As Xander interrogated Owen, Tara walked up beside Willow.  
  
"There was a date?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Yeah, um," Willow began to explain. "Well, she said you lecture her a lot, and she wanted help picking clothes. And past tense rule. There is a date."  
  
Looking at Buffy, Tara pouted. "I don't lecture."  
  
Meanwhile, Giles was continuing to rant to Buffy.  
  
"Another date?" Giles asked tentatively. "Don't you ever do anything else?"  
  
"This is the first date!" Buffy answered. "There's never been a date, okay? This is my maiden voyage! Besides, we don't even know if this is anything."  
  
"No, we don't," Giles agreed, reluctantly.  
  
"And I haven't had a day off in a while," Buffy added.  
  
"True..." Giles once again reluctantly agreed.  
  
"And a cranky Slayer is a careless Slayer!" Buffy continued to argue.  
  
"Buffy," Giles scolded. "Maintaining a normal social life as a Slayer...i-i-is problematic at best."  
  
"This is the 90's," Buffy argued. "The 1990's, in point of fact, and I can do both. Clark Kent has a job. I just wanna go on a date."  
  
"Well, I, I suppose it was a fairly slim lead," Giles relented.  
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Buffy said happily. "And look, I won't go far, okay? If the apocalypse comes, beep me. Plus, I can keep an eye out for Jesse, too."  
  
"Who's Jesse?" Owen asked, walking back over.  
  
"Uh, just another student with an overdue book," Giles covered. "And, uh, Buffy, you'll face a pretty hefty fine in the morning."  
  
"Is everything cool?" Owen asked, content with the explanation.  
  
"All set," Buffy nodded, leading them off.  
  
"Is something going on?" Willow asked after they were gone, looking up at Giles.  
  
"Oh, uh, probably not, no," Giles replied, unconvincingly. "I, uh, I suppose I'll just, uh, go to the funeral home in case, just see if anything comes up."  
  
As Giles walked off, Xander and Tara moved in behind Willow.  
  
"This is bad," Willow said, concerned.  
  
"It's bad?" Tara asked, curiously. "I think he seems pretty good for a guy. I mean, I'd be more concerned about Buffy. I mean, that dress is a little small, don't you think?"  
  
"I mean Giles," Willow replied, a little annoyed. "And besides, I picked out that dress. I think it looks nice."  
  
"Oh, w-well, I-I think Giles will be okay," Tara said, a little embarrassed.  
  
"Yeah," Xander agreed quickly. "I mean, he's like super librarian, y'know? Everyone forgets, Willow, that knowledge is the ultimate weapon."  
  
Upon the looks from Willow and Tara, Xander began to walk in the direction that Giles went. "Well, let's just follow the guy already!"  
  
"I-I'm gonna stay here, guys," Tara said, hesitantly. "Jesse may show up, and I don't think anything's going to happen to Giles."  
  
Looking back at Tara for a moment, Willow nodded. "We'll be careful."  
  
Nodding in response, Tara closed the door as Willow left. After watching their retreating figures, she went back, grabbed up her coat, and quietly walked out, carefully following the path left by Buffy.  


* * *

  
  
It had been a wonderful night for Buffy. She'd spent a lot of time on the dance floor, and also a bit of time just chatting with Owen.  
  
She'd also, unhappily, spent a good amount of time looking at her beeper, just in case Giles ran into something. There was nothing so far, and Owen was taking her little bit of preoccupation in stride, much to Buffy's relief.  
  
Plus, watching Cordelia losing out was too good to pass up.  
  
Meanwhile, Tara was keeping just out of view, trying not to appear too stealthy. So far, neither had really done anything she'd found bad, but she wasn't about to stop. She knew she was being overprotective. Buffy was the slayer, after all. But Tara couldn't help her instinct as the older sister to watch the two.  
  
Ever since Tara had learned her first spell when she was nine years old, she made a pact with herself that's she'd always protect Buffy, and even after Buffy's destiny was revealed, Tara never failed when Buffy was in trouble. And if she had her way, she never would.  
  
Turning back towards Buffy and Owen, Tara watched the pair finish dancing, and walk over towards a sofa. As she watched them converse, she couldn't help but think back towards the activities of the previous day.  
  
"Willow likes Xander, I like Willow. Xander likes...Well, who knows who Xander likes," Tara thought aloud, though not quite loud enough to get stares from the people around her. "Ugh, this is so confusing!"  
  
Walking over to the bar, she ordered a cream soda, which she drank pretty quickly. Walking back to her hiding spot, she continued to watch Buffy and Owen, who had just gotten up, and were heading back to the dance floor.  
  
"Don't those two ever get tired?" Tara asked to no one in particular, as she continued her secret mission.  


* * *

  
  
At the same time, Giles was arriving at the local funeral home, prepared for practically everything except nothing. 'Nothing' was just out of the question.  
  
Stopping his old car, one that he didn't remember when he'd bought, he grabbed up his bag of 'tools', and set out towards the building he was parked in front of.  
  
"Hopefully no bloody policemen out tonight," Giles muttered to himself, looking at the ground nervously. Hearing something behind him, he paused, before stealing a glance over his shoulder.  
  
There was no mistaking him. It was a vampire.  
  
"Damn!" Giles exclaimed.  
  
Turning back towards the door, Giles found his way blocked by another vampire. Reaching into his bag quickly, he easily found a cross, which he pulled out. This caused the two to back off a little, giving him his chance to escape.  
  
Running into the building, he desperately wandered around, trying to find an open door, but finding them all mysteriously locked so far.  
  
Finally, he found a door that was unlocked. Opening it, he looked around, and inwardly groaned. It was the Morgue. Not letting his bad luck disrupt him, he closed the door, quickly barricading it with whatever he could move.  
  
Feeling that, at least for the moment, he was okay, he turned around, looking for a possible escape. Hearing something hit the door from the other side, he began to panic. Looking around desperately, the only thing he found was a barred window. Walking over, he grabbed the bars, checking how strong they were.  
  
Suddenly, Willow and Xander appeared, shocking Giles almost completely out of his shoes.  
  
"Giles, it's us," Willow said, getting Giles attention.  
  
"What are you doing here?" He asked after gaining his bearings again.  
  
"We saw two guys going in after you," Xander replied, nervously. "Are they..."  
  
"They are!" Giles cut him off, looking at the door. "Uh, listen, you should get to safety."  
  
"Can you get out this window?" Willow asked, hopefully.  
  
"I'm afraid not," Giles said, despairingly.  
  
"Look, I hate to state the obvious," Xander said quickly. "But this looks like a job for Buffy?"  
  
"Uh, she has her, her..." Giles paused trying to remember what Buffy had referred to. "Beeping thing! Um, no phone, of course."  
  
"Look, we'll get her," Xander said, confidently, getting up. "Just, uh, hang in there."  
  
The two closed the window, running off.  
  
"Do hurry," Giles muttered, looking back at the door.  


* * *

  
  
Back at the Bronze, Tara had lost track of Buffy, and was looking around, carefully.  
  
Suddenly, Owen walked past, alone. Noticing him, Tara just barely got herself hidden again in time. Making sure she hadn't been noticed, she turned back to where he'd come from. Just a few meters away was Buffy. She was standing near a flight of stairs, watching Owen dreamily.  
  
Turning back to Owen, she watched him get a couple of drinks from the bar, paying for it quickly.  
  
Satisfied, she turned back to Buffy again. She was surprised when she saw she was no longer alone.  
  
"Angel was it?" Tara asked herself, watching the two carefully. Noticing Buffy attempting to walk away, and Angel stopping her, Tara tensed.  
  
Suddenly, she remembered Owen, and went over to warn Buffy.  
  
"Buff!" Tara called running over.  
  
"Tara?" Buffy said, confused. Was everyone going to be on her about this today?  
  
Giving Buffy a slight glare, she tilted her head towards an approaching Owen, hoping Buffy would take the hint.  
  
Before Buffy could reply, though, Owen walked up, not quite noticing the company that had suddenly appeared.  
  
"Here you go," Owen said, presenting the items he'd purchased. Pulling his arm back, he noticed Angel. Giving him a look, Owen turned back to Buffy, confused.  
  
"Oh. Um, Owen, this is Angel," Buffy said awkwardly. "Angel, this is Owen, who is my date."  
  
"Hey," Angel said with a hint of malice.  
  
"Hey," Owen said, enthusiastically. "So. Where do you know Buffy from?"  
  
"Work," Angel managed to spit out.  
  
"You work?" Owen asked, a little confused.  
  
Before Buffy could answer, Willow and Xander ran up, out of breath.  
  
"Buffy!" Willow managed to say between breaths. Looking up, she noticed Tara. "And Tara. Wait, aren't you supposed to be at home?"  
  
"Look at this!" Owen said, looking at Willow and Xander, before glancing back at Tara, giving her a confused glance. "You all show up everywhere. Interesting."  
  
"You don't know the half of it," Xander shot back. Looking at Angel, he looked him up and down. "What's he doing here?"  
  
"I guess it's the same thing you're doin' here," Angel retorted, giving the two a bit of a look.  
  
"Uh, excuse me," Buffy said, annoyed. "What are any of you doing here?"  
  
"Look, we gotta get to, uh," Xander started, before receiving a swift kick in the shin from Willow. "Uhhhh. We thought it'd be fun if, uh, we made this a double date!"  
  
Playing into Xander's plan, Willow threw her arms around him a little awkwardly.  
  
"I didn't know you guys were seeing each other," Buffy said, confused. Perhaps she was wrong about Willow?  
  
"Oh, yeah, well," Willow said, a little less than convincingly. "We knew it would happen eventually, so we figured, hey! Why fight it?"  
  
Taking a glance up at Tara, Willow saw the somewhat unhappy look she saw, and felt a pang of guilt. It was weird, she'd been hoping Xander would do something like this for a while, but now that he had, she wasn't sure why anymore.  
  
"And you guys are thinking double?" Owen spoke up, drawing Willow out of her small trance.  
  
"'Cause of..." Xander started awkwardly, giving a slight chuckle, "the fun!"  
  
"And you're here because of work?" Owen asked Angel, a little disbelieving.  
  
"Hey, maybe we should all go somewhere together," Xander said, a little over-suggestively.  
  
"Gee, that's so nice of you to ask," Buffy said, still annoyed. "But Owen and I were, well, sort of... Owen and I."  
  
"You know what'd be cool?" Xander continued, ignoring Buffy. "The Sunnydale Funeral Home!"  
  
"I've always wanted to go there!" Willow agreed, throwing a meaningful look at Buffy.  
  
"The funeral home?" Buffy replied, not getting it.  
  
"Actually," Owen interrupted. "That sounds kinda cool! Do you think we could all sneak in?"  
  
"We saw some guys in there before," Xander said, a little sarcastically. "They seemed to be having fun!"  
  
"Bite me!" Buffy muttered under her breath. Looking up at Angel, she noticed his pointed look, and gave in.  
  
"Um, Owen," Buffy said, unhappily. "I gotta go."  
  
"I thought we were going to the funeral home," Owen replied, a little confused.  
  
"No, you can't," Buffy replied, a little too quickly. Upon his look, she tried again. "I'll tell you what. I'll be back in a little while."  
  
"Buffy? What's the deal?" Owen asked, pulling Buffy aside. "Do you wanna bail on me?"  
  
""No! No. No...uh," Buffy replied quickly, unsure how to get around this. "You remember when you said I was like two different people? Well, one of them has to go. But the other one is having a really, really good time, and will come back. I promise."  
  
Turning away, Buffy began to walk off, but quickly turned back, planting a kiss on Owen.  
  
Turning back around, she saw Tara, Angel and Xander all giving her disappointing looks. Willow was a little too preoccupied to add her own glare.  
  
"She's the strangest girl!" Was all Owen said.  
  
Walking off with Tara, Willow and Xander in toe, Buffy headed for the door.  
  
"How many?" She asked.  
  
"Uh, two, I think," Xander replied, a little awkwardly.  
  
"Great, I can do two," Buffy replied, opening the door.  
  
"Uh, Buffy?" Willow said, stopping her. "Do you mind if I, well, stay back? I-It might be good to keep an eye out of Owen, and I don't think I'd be much help in there."  
  
Giving a quick look at Willow, Buffy nodded. "Good thinking. Last thing I need is him following us into danger-land."  
  
"Thanks!" Willow said quickly, before back-peddling. "I-I mean, I'll keep a close eye on him. If he goes anywhere, babbling Willow is here to stop him!"  
  
As Willow quickly walked back into the Bronze, Xander started to lead Buffy and Tara towards the Morgue.  


* * *

  
  
"Do you think he'll follow them?" Angel asked Willow, not taking his eye off Owen.  
  
"I don't know," Willow answered, abstractedly. "I-I mean, he's Owen. He's solo-guy. Bu-but, he seems to be one to go into danger without knowing it."  
  
Turning back to Willow, Angel noticed the strange look on her face. "Is something wrong?"  
  
"What?" Willow asked, not quite hearing Angel. "Oh, uh, well, now that you mention it..."  
  
"J-just so you know, I'm not a man of opinions," Angel said, smiling at Willow. "But I have a long history of just listening to people talk."  
  
"Yeah?" Willow said, nervously. "W-well, I-I'm not m-much for talking, but I could give it a shot."  
  
Taking one last glance at Owen, who was still glued to his chair, Angel pointed towards a place to sit, muttering to himself, "Very long history."  
  
Sitting down, Willow looked at Angel once more, a little nervously.  
  
"D-do you want something to drink, or something?" Willow asked, partially standing up. When Angel put his hand up to stop her, adding in a head shake, she sat back down, taking a deep breath.  
  
"W-well, this is going to sound weird, and a little disturbing..." Willow began.  
  
"Trust me," Angel quickly cut off. "I've seen my share of disturbing. It doesn't really bother me much anymore."  
  
"Oh, w-well," Willow said once more, taking a deep breath. "I-I've been having these feeling for Xander the past year or so...Oh, uh, Xander, that's the guy that I came here with. Anyway, there's been something happening between us recently, but then Tara shows up, and now...Well, everything's different now. Oh, uh, Tara is..."  
  
"Buffy's sister, I know," Angel replied, giving Willow a pointed look. "Does Tara like Xander too?"  
  
"No!" Willow replied, a little too forcefully. "Well, at least, I don't think so..."  
  
"I doubt it, too," Angel agreed, grinning.  
  
"But it's so confusing," Willow complained. "I mean, I always thought Xander was cute. His eyes, his ears, his mouth. B-but there's something about Tara, something beyond what I feel for Xander. I-I mean, don't get me wrong, she's good looking, almost beaut...Anyway; it's something more with Tara. Something strange. And I barely know her, too."  
  
"Well, believe me," Angel replied, taking it all in. "You don't need to know much about someone to love them."  
  
"I n-never said...and, she's a girl!" Willow said, annoyed.  
  
"Oh, so that's..." Angel thought aloud, before understanding. "Well, this is what I think. And don't brush me off as a poet. I left that stuff for Spike..."  
  
"Spike?" Willow asked, curiously.  
  
"Old friend, you wouldn't want to meet him," Angel replied, distractedly.  
  
"Oh, well," Willow started. "What was the advice you had?"  
  
"Oh," Angel said, thinking for a moment. "Uh, well, mostly, I think the heart knows no bounds. If it happens that your kindred spirit is a girl, then that's not a problem. If you two love each other, then that's all that matters."  
  
Giving Angel a look, Willow flashed a quick smile. "You weren't kidding about the poet thing, were you?"  
  
"Not really, no," Angel confessed. "Though, I did steal some of that from old Spikey. He was much better than I."  
  
"Right," Willow said. "W-well, thanks. It's good to get that off my chest, even if it's to someone that doesn't even..."  
  
"Willow," Angel replied, shocking Willow a tad. "I do pay more attention than you think."  
  
"You do," Willow replied, a little confused. To her knowledge, Angel never had the chance to catch her name.  
  
Looking away, Willow noticed that Owen was gone.  
  
"Oh, no," Willow said, standing up and getting Angel's attention. "Where's Owen?"  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy, Tara and Xander had run just through the front door of the funeral home.  
  
Stopping just inside, Buffy looked down the two halls in front of them.  
  
"Which way?" She asked Xander.  
  
"I don't know," Xander replied, thinking. "It was somewhere out back."  
  
Taking a left, the three ran quickly, before making another left.  
  
"Damn it," Buffy cursed as she saw it lead to a dead end.  
  
"This is so cool!" Came a voice, causing Buffy to spin around defensively.  
  
"Uh, Owen," Buffy said, surprised. "You can't be here!"  
  
"Oh, and I suppose you guys are allowed?" Owen retorted, looking around. "What are we doin' here? Are we gonna see a dead body?"  
  
"Possibly several," Buffy replied seriously. "Guys, watch him."  
  
Walking past Owen, Buffy quickly made her way back to where they came in.  
  
"Is she mad?" Owen asked, confused.  
  
"No, uh," Xander replied, unsure of what to say. "You didn't happen to run into Willow on your way here, did you?"  
  
"Willow?" Owen replied, staring at Xander oddly. "No. I thought she was with you guys. I-Is she alright?"  
  
"Y-yeah, she's fine," Xander replied, before muttering; "For now."  


* * *

  
  
As this was going on, Buffy blindly continued her search for Giles. Walking around a corner once more, she heard something very faint from one of the rooms.  
  
"Giles?" She called out, walking into the morgue.  
  
Taking in the room that was basically in shatters, Buffy noticed a few of Giles' things around.  
  
Suddenly, one of the storage drawers in front of her opened.  
  
"Giles!" Buffy screeched as Giles looked up.  
  
"It is you," Giles replied, relieved. "Oh, good."  
  
"What happened?" Buffy asked, looking around the room.  
  
"Uh, two more of the brethren came in here," Giles replied, also taking in the room's state. "They came after me. But I was more than a match for them."  
  
"Meaning...?" Buffy asked, wanting a bit more information.  
  
"I hid," Giles replied, much to Buffy's disappointment. "Uh, this, uh, chap was good enough to bunk with me 'til they went away."  
  
"Well, w-were they here after you, or w-was it that prophecy thing?" Buffy questioned.  
  
"Ah, well, that's what we have to find out," Giles replied, unsure. "I don't know what these brethren mean to do exactly. Find the Anointed, or, or, or, or give him something perhaps, uh, it's all, all very vague. And the Anointed may be long gone!"  
  
"But he may not be," Buffy pointed out.  
  
"We must find out," Giles replied.  
  
"Okay," Buffy nodded, thinking of a plan. "I just need to get Owen and the others out of harm's way first."  
  
"Owen?" Giles asked, bemused. "You brought a date?"  
  
"I didn't bring him," Buffy defended herself. "He came."  
  
"Buffy," Giles began to scold. "When I said you could slay vampires and have a social life, I didn't mean at the same time."  
  
"I know," Buffy said, annoyed. "I'll get rid of him."  
  
"Y-you can't make him go out there alone," Giles countered, stopping Buffy. "We don't know where the brethren are. I-I'll just..."  
  
"No! No, Giles, he sees you, he's gonna have more questions than he already does right now," Buffy replied, disapprovingly. "I'll take care of it."  
  
Walking back into the hallway, Buffy began to look around for the others.  
  
Suddenly, they came around a corner, causing Buffy to sigh with relief.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Tara asked, looking at Buffy worriedly.  
  
"It is," Buffy reassured them.  
  
"And we'll be leaving?" Xander asked, pointedly.  
  
"We're not done looking around yet," Owen protested.  
  
"No, he's right," Buffy agreed, to Tara and Xander's surprise. "So let's find a nice, safe, fun room to look around in."  
  
Leading the group down the hall, Buffy found a door that looked to be in a safe area.  
  
"We tried the office here," Owen informed the group. "But it's locked."  
  
Grabbing the handle, Buffy turned it forcefully, breaking the lock.  
  
"No it's not," Buffy said, opening the door.  
  
"Well, I don't think we'll find much in here," Owen pointed out, taking a quick look around.  
  
"That's the plan," Buffy muttered.  
  
"Okay," Owen replied, hearing her. "What?"  
  
"I have to go now," Buffy answered, ignoring Owen. Upon his look, she quickly covered. "Um, to the bathroom, I have to go to the bathroom. If you hear anything, like a security guard or something, just be really quiet."  
  
Walking out, she turned to Xander and Tara, giving them pointed looks. "And barricade the door."  
  
Closing the door behind her, Xander began to put things in front of the door, while Tara went to find a couple of candles.  
  
"Uh, what are you guys doing?" Owen asked, confused.  
  
"Uh, just a precaution," Tara replied, lighting a candle, and muttering a quick spell.  
  
Giving Tara a strange look, Owen turned around, continuing to check the room out. Seeing a curtain closed at the back, he moved back to open it.  
  
"Oh, my!" Owen said to himself, quietly, getting Tara and Xander's attention.  


* * *

  
  
Back at the morgue, Buffy had just returned.  
  
"Now, let's get to work," she told Giles. "What do we do?"  
  
"Well, uh, the best place to start would be to go through the body's that are here," Giles replied, moving towards the storage drawers.  
  
"Oh, well, you can do that yourself, can't you?" Buffy asked, walking off. "I-I mean, you don't need me to help, do you?"  
  
"Buffy, there could be a vampire here," Giles replied sternly, if not a little obviously. "One that could be the key to this 'Master' character's release."  
  
"Yes, but he's dead," Buffy replied, causing Giles to cease his movements. "I mean, you can kill a dead vampire, can't you?"  
  
Turning his head towards Buffy, Giles gave her a disbelieving look.  
  
"Buffy, all vampires are 'dead'," Giles replied, impatiently.  
  
"Oh," Buffy replied, a little surprised. "Right, but, uh, this one would be sleeping, right?"  
  
"For all we know he's out walking to the Master right now," Giles replied a little angrily.  
  
"Okay!" Buffy exclaimed, defeated. "I'll look. But if he's not here..."  
  
"Then he's probably already with the Master," Giles cut off.  
  
"True enough," Buffy nodded, walking towards the first drawer.  
  
Opening it up, she found nothing, to her relief.  
  
"Only 5 to go," Buffy muttered.  
  
4 more doors later, including one that had some rather disgusting contents, and Buffy and Giles looked at each other, then walked towards the one that remained.  
  
Opening it, and pulling open the drawer, Buffy and Giles were shocked to find nothing in it.  
  
"Nothing," Buffy stated simply.  
  
"The Anointed must be gone," Giles added, certainly.  
  
"I guess," Buffy agreed. "I mean, this is where they keep all the dead bodies, right?"  
  
Giles only nodded.  
  
Suddenly, there was a sound of a window being smashed.  
  
"Oh, no," Buffy muttered, horrified. Grabbing up her cross, she ran out.  


* * *

  
  
At the same time, Xander, Owen and Tara hurried over to move the barrier blocking the exit.  
  
"I have been judged!" The person-turned-vampire Andrew Borba said, standing up.  
  
Taking a few cautious steps, he looked at the group trying to open the door.  
  
"He is risen in me!" Andrew chanted. "He fills my head with song!"  
  
As Xander and Owen continued to clear the front of the door, Tara realized her spell was still in place. Thinking quickly, she muttered a spell, hoping it would work.  
  
"Pork and beans. Pork and beans!" Andrew continued to mutter, walking towards them. "I can smell you."  
  
Moving the last bit from the front of the door, they all hurried out, to the relief of Tara.  
  
Running towards the morgue, they almost literally ran into Buffy rounding a corner.  
  
"He's in there," Xander said immediately, pointing back in the general direction that they came from.  
  
"Uh, go," Buffy replied, commandingly. As she ran off, she shouted back. "Get out!"  
  
Nodding, Xander and Tara began to hurry off again, before realizing that Owen hadn't budged.  
  
"She'll be okay," Xander assured, getting his attention. "C'mon!"  
  
As they rushed towards the front doors, they ran into another group of vampires, forcing them to turn back.  
  
In the distance, they could hear Andrew singing faintly. It was getting closer, though.  
  
"I think he's coming this way," Tara said, pointedly.  
  
As they hurried off again, they found themselves at a dead end again.  
  
"Oh, God, this is too much," Owen muttered, petrified.  


* * *

  
  
Back in the morgue, Buffy ran in.  
  
"What've you got?" She asked a surprised Giles.  
  
"What?" Giles asked back, confused.  
  
"What do you have?" Buffy clarified. "Do you have a stake?"  
  
"Oh, uh," Giles replied nervously, quickly pulling out a stake.  
  
"Thank you," Buffy called, walking back out.  
  
"W-what should I do?" Giles asked, causing Buffy to turn back around.  
  
"Um, go outside and make sure the others are okay," Buffy replied. However, before she could spin around again, Andrew came up, knocking her down from behind.  
  
"Buffy!" Giles shouted, rushing over to her.  


* * *

  
  
Meanwhile, in the hallways, Xander, Owen and Tara heard Giles' shout.  
  
"Somebody's gotta help Buffy!" Owen said, running off in the general direction of the sound.  
  
"Owen!" Tara called out, to no avail.  
  
As the group reached the morgue, they found Giles being held up by Andrew.  
  
Throwing Giles, he went head first into the crematory switch, turning it on as he fell unconscious.  
  
As that was happening, Andrew had reached for Buffy, lifting her up once more.  
  
"Buffy!" Owen yelled, shocked. "No!"  
  
Grabbing the first object he could find, Owen threw it at Andrew, knocking him off-balance, and causing him to release Buffy.  
  
Angrily, Andrew turned towards Owen, moving over towards him. Grabbing his neck, he attempted to bite. Before he could do so, though, Owen grabbed up a strange looking object, hitting Andrew on the head with it.  
  
Pretty satisfied that Andrew wasn't going to be a bother, Owen moved over to Buffy, who was just coming to.  
  
"Did you see that?" Owen asked her, disbelievingly. "He tried to bite me! What a sissy!  
  
Behind them, Andrew got back up. Quickly, he grabbed Owen and swung one of the open doors into the back of his head.  
  
"No!" Buffy shouted, horrified.  
  
"Dead!" Andrew taunted, dropping Owen. "He was found wanting."  
  
Angrily, Buffy got up and began pummeling Andrew.  
  
In the middle of the fight, Willow rushed in, clearly out of breath.  
  
"You killed my date!" Was the first thing she heard, as Buffy continued her assault on Andrew.  
  
Looking over at Owen, Willow noticed him coming to, and looked back at Buffy.  
  
"Buffy, Owen's..." she began, before Xander cut her off.  
  
"J-just give her a sec," he told her.  
  
"You killed my date!" Buffy repeated after hitting Andrew in the gut and shoving him into the back counter.  
  
Standing upright, Andrew looked defiantly at Buffy. "Your turn!"  
  
Charging at Buffy, he had no time to react as Buffy stepped aside, causing Andrew to slide into the crematorium on a gurney.  
  
After satisfied that he was gone, Buffy turned around to find Owen trying to sit up.  
  
"Does anyone have an aspirin?" He asked, still dazed. "Or sixty?"  
  
"Owen!" Buffy remarked, kneeing beside him.  
  
"What happened to that guy?" Owen asked, looking around curiously.  
  
"Oh," Buffy stalled, looking for a good excuse. "We scared him away."  
  
"Oh, good," Owen replied, nodding. "'Cause, y'know, I would've..."  
  
"I know," Buffy cut him off. "Here...I'm sure this isn't exactly what you had in mind for our first date."  
  
"Yeah," Owen agreed. "I was hoping maybe we'd finish at Ben & Jerry's."  
  
"We still could," Buffy replied, hopefully.  
  
"No, I, I, I think I'll just walk home," Owen replied, getting up. "Uh, which way's home?"  
  
"I'll get you there," Buffy offered, walking over.  
  
"No, I'll, I'll go it alone," Owen insisted.  
  
"We'll make sure he gets home safely," Xander said, helping Owen out the door.  
  
"Buffy, if I might, uh," Giles began, walking behind Buffy.  
  
"Don't!" Buffy cut him off, following the others out.  


* * *

  
  
After dropping Owen off at home, Xander and Willow walked home mostly in silence.  
  
As they neared their final destination, Xander finally broke the silence.  
  
"Man, that was something," he said, casually.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied, not quite sure of what else to say.  
  
"I mean, Buffy was just wailing on that guy," Xander continued. "And Tara, well, she's got some serious mojo working there. Like, wow, she was amazing!"  
  
"She is," Willow replied, unfazed as she continued walking.  
  
However, Xander stopped, giving Willow's back a hard look, before running up.  
  
"She is?"  


* * *

  
  
Down in the Master's cave, he was reading the book once more, double checking ever little piece of information.  
  
"'And in this time will come the Anointed,'" he read aloud. "'And the Slayer will not know him. She will not stop him, and he will lead her into hell.'"  
  
Looking over at Jesse, and a little boy, he smiled.  
  
"Well, I always knew prophesies were silly creatures," he said. "Welcome, my friends."  


* * *

  
  


The End

  
  


* * *

  
  
_A/N: Whew! It's done!  
  
Just to note, the Owen/Buffy thing ends the same as it does in the real episode. There will not be another appearance at least for a while by him.  
  
I'm a little torn on what to do next. It might be a while though before whatever it is comes out. I just hope everyone is patient enough.  
  
So, until next time, happy reading!  
_


End file.
